WTO chief hopes members will restore lapsed e-commerce duties moratorium

YAOUNDE – WTO Chief Hopes to Restore E-Commerce Moratorium After Talks Lapse. The World Trade Organization (WTO) chief expressed hope on Monday that countries will be able to reinstate an e-commerce moratorium that lapsed during recent negotiations. The moratorium had prevented countries from imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions such as downloads and streaming.

“It means that if it lapses, members can apply customs duties on electronic transmissions. But that takes time to set up, and then we are able to restore it. And we hope to be able to do that,” WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told reporters.

The talks, held in Yaoundé, Cameroon, ran out of time, with negotiators agreeing to continue discussions later in Geneva. The WTO chief emphasized that restoring the moratorium would allow countries to maintain a predictable framework for digital trade while avoiding new barriers.

-Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin; Editing by Christian Schmollinger/Reuters