WORK PROGRAMME ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
Report by the Chairperson of the Council for Trade in
Goods
to the General Council
As
agreed by the Council for Trade in Goods at its meeting of 14 July 2016
I am making, under my own responsibility as Chairperson, the following factual report
to the General Council:
Pursuant
to the 2015 Ministerial Decision[1]
instructing the General Council, inter alia, to hold
periodic reviews on the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce in its sessions
of July and December 2016 and July 2017, based on the reports
submitted by the WTO bodies entrusted with the implementation of the Work
Programme, the Council for Trade in Goods placed the issue of the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce on the agenda
of its meetings of 15 April and 14 July 2016. At these meetings,
the Chair invited delegations to express their opinions and to make suggestions as to how to work on the
preparation of the periodic reviews to be held in the General Council at its sessions of July and
December 2016 and July 2017.
At the Goods Council meeting of 15 April 2016 there were no interventions from
the floor on
this issue but the Council took note of the information provided by the Chair.
At the Goods Council meeting of 14 July 2016
the delegations of Canada, China, the European Union, Japan, Korea, Switzerland,
and the United States encouraged Members to reinvigorate and widen the
discussion on E‑commerce, to make more effective use of the Work Programme, to
promote digital economic growth and reinforce the openness that had allowed the
internet to become a dynamic force for economic growth,
to increase access to best technologies, and to bolster the internet's ability to
facilitate commerce in digital products, services, and physical goods. General reference was also made to documents JOB/GC/94, JOB/GC/96,
and JOB/GC/97.
The issue of the Work Programme
on Electronic Commerce will remain on the agenda of the meetings of the Goods
Council to take place in November 2016 and the first quarter of 2017 with
a view to the Goods Council fulfilling its mandate to report to the General
Council on discussions held at its meetings in December 2016 and July 2017.
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