El Comercio Electrónico Protagoniza la Escena en Vísperas de la CM13 de la Organización Mundial del Comercio

The document examines the dual tracks of e-commerce negotiations at the WTO: the multilateral Work Programme and the plurilateral Joint Statement Initiative (JSI). It highlights a shift in the JSI where contentious issues like data flows and source code were archived following a US policy shift in October 2023. A central point of tension remains the moratorium on customs duties for electronic transmissions, with developing nations citing lost public revenue and the need for industrial policy space, while developed nations argue the moratorium lowers trade costs and benefits consumers. The document notes that the outcome of the moratorium debate and the potential integration of JSI treaties into WTO law are key expectations for MC13.

• The WTO Work Programme on Electronic Commerce, established by the MC2 Declaration, has been described as "slow and vacillating," but was revitalized at MC12 to focus more on the development dimension. Between January and November 2023, eight thematic discussions were held covering topics such as the digital divide, consumer protection, and digital industrialization.
• The Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) on Electronic Commerce involves 90 members, representing over 90% of world trade, though participation from developing economies is limited; only eight members are African and five are Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Major emerging economies like India and South Africa oppose these plurilateral negotiations on principle.
• On October 23, 2023, the United States Trade Representative withdrew support for proposals regarding data flows, data localization, and source code to maintain domestic policy space. This led to the "archiving" of these issues, which were considered the most difficult to negotiate due to divergent positions between the US, EU, and China.
• The moratorium on customs duties for electronic transmissions is a major point of contention. Some developing economies argue that the moratorium causes "important losses of public revenue" and hinders their ability to protect nascent digital industries through industrial policy. Conversely, developed nations argue that the moratorium reduces trade costs and benefits small businesses and consumers.
• The current moratorium on electronic transmission duties is set to expire in March 2024 if no ministerial meeting occurs before then. The debate includes whether electronic transmissions should be categorized as goods (subject to tariffs) or services.
• The integration of the JSI e-commerce treaty into the WTO's legal architecture requires consensus from all WTO members. The viability of this process may be affected by the lack of consensus regarding the incorporation of another plurilateral agreement, the Investment Facilitation for Development (IFDA).

APA

Ismail, Y., & Jose, R. (n.d.). El Comercio Electrónico Protagoniza la Escena en Vísperas de la CM13 de la Organización Mundial del Comercio. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/es/node/17934

Chicago

Ismail, Yasmin, and Rashmi Jose. El Comercio Electrónico Protagoniza la Escena en Vísperas de la CM13 de la Organización Mundial del Comercio. International Institute for Sustainable Development, n.d. https://www.iisd.org/es/node/17934.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ismail |first1=Yasmin |last2=Jose |first2=Rashmi |title=El Comercio Electrónico Protagoniza la Escena en Vísperas de la CM13 de la Organización Mundial del Comercio |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |url=https://www.iisd.org/es/node/17934 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ismailndcomercio, author = {Ismail, Yasmin and Jose, Rashmi}, title = {{El Comercio Electrónico Protagoniza la Escena en Vísperas de la CM13 de la Organización Mundial del Comercio}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/es/node/17934}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }