SINGAPORE: Singapore and nine other economies on Monday (Mar 16) backed the creation of a permanent World Trade Organization (WTO) moratorium that prevents countries from imposing tariffs on electronic transmissions such as software downloads, streaming content and other digital products.
They expressed support for such a measure in a ministerial declaration issued after a virtual meeting of the Future of Investment and Trade (FIT) Partnership, chaired by Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong.
According to the International Chamber of Commerce, the WTO e-commerce moratorium currently in place “keeps digital trade tariff-free, cutting costs and barriers for small businesses, creators and entrepreneurs worldwide”. The moratorium is a temporary one, which will expire unless it is renewed.
The declaration, titled the Declaration on Strengthening the Rules-Based Trading System, comes ahead of the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference in Yaounde, Cameroon, from Mar 26 to 29, where the moratorium is due to be renewed. If WTO members fail to agree to renew the moratorium, it will expire at the close of the conference.
In the virtual meeting, members of the FIT Partnership committed to “advance a broader and longer-term agenda … to strengthen the rules-based trading system”.
