Stabilised Text Achieved in WTO Joint Statement Initiative on Electronic Commerce

On Friday, July 26, Japan, Australia, and Singapore, as Co-Convenors, issued a joint statement on behalf of participants in the WTO JSI on Electronic Commerce. In the statement, Co-Convenors announced that after five years of negotiations from 2019, participants had achieved stabilised text on the Agreement on Electronic Commerce and published the text.

The text, which comprises 38 articles, includes the following disciplines: (1) trade facilitation of electronic commerce by digitalizing trade documents and promoting electronic payments including through the transparency of the regulatory environment, (2) ensuring an open electronic commerce environment through open government data and access to and use of the Internet, and (3) enhancing trust in electronic commerce including through the rules on cybersecurity, online consumer protection, and personal data protection. In particular, as a commercially meaningful provision, the text also includes the permanent prohibition of the imposition of customs duties on electronic transmissions, which Japanese industry has been seeking for many years.

These provisions, once in force as an agreement, are expected not only to enhance predictability and reduce business costs but also to contribute to realizing a safe and secure environment for consumers, serving as rules for global digital trade.

In addition, this achievement is a successful case example of WTO functions for rule negotiations to address modern challenges and also a highly significant outcome that leads to materializing the Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT) concept that Japan has upheld.

As for the future process, Japan, as a Co-Convenor, will work with participants towards　incorporating the Agreement on Electronic Commerce into the WTO legal framework.

Moreover, aiming to further elevate this achievement to a more commercially meaningful outcome while taking note of the evolving nature of digital technology, participants will discuss the inclusion of other issues that are not included in the text. Japan will continue to proactively contribute to such discussions.

Related Materials

• JOINT STATEMENT INITIATIVE ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE (July 26, 2024)(PDF:297KB)

Division in Charge

Digital Trade Policy Office, Trade Policy Bureau