E-commerce Joint Statement Initiative Negotiations Among World Trade Organization Members: State of play and the impacts of COVID-19

This policy brief provides a stocktaking of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) negotiations on e-commerce as of February 2021. It examines how the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digital adoption while widening the digital divide, and analyzes the current state of play in the JSI negotiations, including areas of convergence and persistent divergence among the 86 participating members.

• The COVID-19 pandemic acted as a catalyst for e-commerce adoption, with some business operations and supply chains accelerating their digitization by seven years compared to pre-pandemic levels. Regional platforms saw significant growth, such as Africa's Jumia Technologies AG, which reported a 51% year-on-year increase in annual active consumers in the first quarter of 2020, and Latin America's Mercado Libre, Inc., which saw a 109.3% growth in its mobile wallet consumer base in the second quarter of 2020.
• The pandemic highlighted a significant digital divide, where e-commerce acceleration was primarily concentrated in developed and high-income developing economies. Internet usage growth in the first quarter of 2020 was 12.8 percentage points higher in high-income countries compared to only 1.3 percentage points in lower-middle-income countries. This gap particularly marginalized women and girls in rural areas, limiting their access to digital finance, essential services, and education.
• As of February 2021, 86 WTO members are participating in the e-commerce JSI, representing 90% of global trade. This group includes four least developed countries (Benin, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Burkina Faso) and six African members (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, and Nigeria).
• The JSI negotiations have utilized ten small groups to narrow differences on specific issues. By February 2021, a 'clean text' had been finalized for the issue of unsolicited commercial messages (spam). Other areas showing progress include consumer protection, e-signatures, and electronic authentication, though developing countries like Guatemala and Ecuador have expressed interest in longer implementation periods for consumer protection rules.
• Significant divergence remains regarding data flows, access, privacy, and cybersecurity. The European Union emphasizes fundamental rights, the United States advocates for free cross-border data flows for business purposes, and China views data flows as subject to security preconditions. Due to these differences and a lack of domestic expertise in some member states, much of the regulation of data is occurring outside the WTO, such as in the G7 and G20.
• There is limited progress in integrating the needs of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), gender equality, and least developed countries (LDCs) into the consolidated negotiating text. Only Canada has advanced gender-inclusive provisions, which adopt a general non-discrimination approach. China and Indonesia are the only participants to submit text proposals for capacity building and technical assistance for LDCs.
• The moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions remains a point of contention. While some developed members want to make the moratorium permanent, some developing members question its utility. Indonesia has specifically positioned itself against the extension of the moratorium, and a consensus definition of 'electronic transmission' has not yet been reached.

APA

Ismail, Y. (2021). E-commerce Joint Statement Initiative Negotiations Among World Trade Organization Members: State of play and the impacts of COVID-19. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-06/e-commerce-negotiations-wto-members-covid-19-en.pdf

Chicago

Ismail, Yasmin. E-commerce Joint Statement Initiative Negotiations Among World Trade Organization Members: State of play and the impacts of COVID-19. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2021. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-06/e-commerce-negotiations-wto-members-covid-19-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ismail |first1=Yasmin |title=E-commerce Joint Statement Initiative Negotiations Among World Trade Organization Members: State of play and the impacts of COVID-19 |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=April 2021 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-06/e-commerce-negotiations-wto-members-covid-19-en.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ismail2021ecommerce, author = {Ismail, Yasmin}, title = {{E-commerce Joint Statement Initiative Negotiations Among World Trade Organization Members: State of play and the impacts of COVID-19}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2021}, month = apr, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-06/e-commerce-negotiations-wto-members-covid-19-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }