WTO Joint Initiative on E-Commerce State of Play
Past, present, and future
A group of 90 World Trade Organization (WTO) members are negotiating a new global agreement on e-commerce rules at the WTO. After close to 7 years of discussions, they are close to achieving a key milestone: agreeing on the draft legal text of the agreement. Ahead of this potential key milestone, this report provides a state of play of the negotiations, with insights on what has been achieved and what is expected for the road ahead.
This state-of-play report serves to provide a comprehensive overview of the process that has led to this point, the remaining areas of negotiation, the key elements expected in the agreement, and the potential outcomes following the finalization of the legal text.
The report also offers a thorough analysis of the agreement's development dimension, delving into the flexibilities and benefits that developing country and least developed country parties can anticipate, as well as the concerns and opportunities associated with the article.
The report has been produced with financial support from the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA).
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