YAOUNDE – World Trade Organization talks stalled on March 29 over extending a moratorium on customs duties for electronic transmissions like digital downloads, set to lapse this month, even as a broader reform package nears agreement.
Diplomats at the WTO meeting in Cameroon highlighted deep divides, particularly between the US and India, on prolonging the 1998 moratorium originally meant to spur digital trade. Brazil’s objections have blocked extensions beyond two years, despite a draft proposing a four-year renewal plus a buffer to 2031.
India favors just two more years, while US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer pushes for permanence. A leaked draft offers support for developing nations worried about lost tax revenue and includes a review mechanism. Business groups warn that failure to extend it risks new duties, undermining predictability and US backing for the WTO. “Without extension, the US will hammer the WTO,” one senior diplomat noted.
Reform Roadmap Gains Traction
Progress emerged on a new draft reform timeline addressing consensus-based decision-making gridlock, often derailed by a few nations, and perks for developing countries. It tackles subsidy transparency and eases rule changes amid US and EU complaints that China exploits loopholes.
Efforts to integrate a plurilateral investment deal for developing nations remain snagged by India. The debates unfold against global trade strains from tariffs, the Iran war, and disruptions, testing the WTO’s viability.