Electronic Commerce Joint Statement: Issues in the Negotiations Phase

Electronic commerce has been a topic of interest within the WTO since the second Ministerial Conference in 1998. At the 11th Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires on 13 December 2017, 71 members signed a joint statement announcing their objective of “advancing electronic commerce work in the WTO” as a group. In a second joint statement this year, they expressed their intention to begin electronic commerce negotiations at the WTO, based on “existing WTO agreements and frameworks.” This note provides an overview of the meetings and proposals tabled during the negotiations phase