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

This research paper analyzes the state of electronic commerce debates within the World Trade Organization (WTO) leading up to the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) in February 2024. It examines two parallel tracks: the multilateral Work Programme on Electronic Commerce and the plurilateral Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) on Electronic Commerce, focusing on the tension between developed and developing economies regarding digital trade rules and the moratorium on customs duties for electronic transmissions.

• The WTO's Work Programme on Electronic Commerce, established by the MC2 Declaration in 1998, has historically been characterized as slow, but saw a revitalization at MC12 with a focus on the development dimension. Between January and November 2023, eight specific debates were held covering topics such as the digital divide, consumer protection, digital industrialization, and the participation of Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
• The Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) on Electronic Commerce is a plurilateral effort launched in 2017 by 71 members, which has grown to 90 members representing over 90% of global trade. However, participation is uneven; only eight members are African and five are LDCs, while major emerging economies like India and South Africa oppose these plurilateral negotiations on principle.
• Negotiations within the JSI have faced challenges due to diverging regulatory approaches: the US initially sought free cross-border data flows, while China and the EU prioritized national security and privacy. Consequently, on October 23, 2023, the US Trade Representative withdrew support for proposals on data flows, data localization, and source code, leading to these issues being archived.
• The JSI co-organizers—Australia, Japan, and Singapore—aim to finalize a substantive package of digital rules by the end of 2023, despite the removal of data-related articles. However, incorporating this plurilateral treaty into the WTO's legal architecture requires full consensus from all members, which is unlikely given existing opposition.
• A critical point of contention is the provisional moratorium on customs duties for electronic transmissions, which has been extended every two years since 1998. The MC12 decision extended this moratorium until March 2024, but a group of developing economies has threatened to block further extensions.
• The debate over the customs moratorium centers on two main conflicts: the loss of public revenue for developing nations versus the claim that revenue loss is minimal and can be offset by internal taxes; and the need for policy space to protect infant digital industries versus the argument that the moratorium reduces trade costs for small businesses and consumers.

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} }