States seek extension of e-commerce tariff moratorium at WTO
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A logo is pictured on the headquarters of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland, June 2, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
GENEVA (Reuters) -A group of states is seeking to extend a World Trade Organization agreement to refrain from placing customs duties on digital transmissions, a World Trade Organization document showed on Thursday.
The proposal submitted by Barbados on behalf of a group of African, Caribbean and Pacific states proposed to extend the current moratorium - a key pillar of internet development for decades - beyond March 2026, when it was set to expire.
It was not immediately clear for how long, with the proposal merely stating "until our next session".
The matter will be discussed at the WTO's ministerial conference in Cameroon in March.
The moratorium has been in place since 1998 to foster growth in the fledgling internet and has been renewed regularly since, allowing global companies to avoid tariffs on items like e-books and video games.
But its renewal has been a matter of fierce debate in WTO meetings, with some developing countries seeking to block its extension, sometimes to gain leverage in other trade negotiations.
(Reporting by Emma Farge, editing by Thomas Seythal)
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