WTO – 1998 Moratorium on electronic commerce – 6 months extension

On December 10th, 2019, the WTO General Council decided to extend the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions for another 6 months.

Since 1998, the WTO has taken into account new trade practices and examined all trade-related issues related to global electronic commerce in order to frame these trade opportunities.

In the Declaration on Global Electronic Commerce, adopted on 20 May 1998, WTO Members had thus declared that they would maintain their previous practice of not imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions.

By this decision of December 10th, the WTO has chosen to maintain the current practice until the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, scheduled for June 8-11, 2020. This Conference will allow the WTO to continue its work on e-commerce.