WTO WORK PROGRAMME ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

COMMUNICATION FROM BARBADOS ON BEHALF OF THE ACP GROUP

Wednesday, 5 November 2025

The following communication, dated 4 November 2025, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of Barbados on behalf of the ACP Group.

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Introduction

1.1.  At the WTO Thirteenth Ministerial Conference held in 2024, in Abu Dhabi, Ministers agreed to a number of elements as part of the reinvigoration of the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce (WPEC), as follows, inter alia: 

... to continue to re-invigorate the work under the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce, based on the mandate as set out in _WT/L/274, and with particular focus on its development dimension, taking into account the economic, financial and development needs of developing and least-developed country Members;  [and]

…to maintain the current practice of not imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions until the 14^th Session of the Ministerial Conference or 31 March 2026, whichever is earlier. The moratorium and the Work Programme will expire on that date. 

Regarding the moratorium to continue the current practice not to impose customs duties on electronic transmissions, Minsters also underlined the following:

We agree to hold further discussions and examine additional empirical evidence on the scope, definition, and the impact that a moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions might have on development, and how to level the playing field for developing and least-developed country Members to advance their digital industrialization....[and]

We agree to engage on the main trade-related challenges faced by developing and least-developed country Members in the development of their digital economy, including the need for training and technical assistance, and, as a priority, identify gaps in support of addressing the digital divide, including for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to realize the potential of the digital economy.

1.2.  The dedicated discussions held since MC13 have encompassed the elements Ministers elaborated in the Abu Dhabi Decision, based on Members' interests. There have been deep dive sessions, in particular, in an effort to categorize those work streams falling under the role of the WTO in collaboration with other specialized institutions, and those which fall squarely under the remit of the WTO.   

1.3.  This communication is intended to stimulate discussion on elements, drawn from the dedicated discussions held since MC13 under the WTO Work Programme on Electronic Commerce (WPEC), with a view to arriving at a decision for MC14. The submission includes an annexed draft decision for MC14 for the consideration of Members.

A.     Regulatory regimes

1.4.  Adoption of electronic commerce legislation is complex, depending on a country's level of development and experience. According to UNCTAD's latest data on E-transactions Legislation Worldwide,^[1] 98% of developed countries have adopted some e-transaction regulations,^[2] 80% of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) have some legislation and Africa WTO Members and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), have an adoption rate of 78%.  While it is not necessary for all types of e-commerce, and provided it is trade facilitating, a legal framework to govern electronic commerce could be important for activity to thrive. A study^[3] prepared by WTO, World Bank, UNCTAD and OECD, Digital Trade for Development has shown that a sound regulatory environment can double the gains from enhanced digital connectivity through a reduction in trade costs. However, from an ACP perspective regulations have chiefly been put in place to protect consumers, privacy and data and garner trust in the platform, including transactions that require sound e-payment systems.

1.5.  As concluded by the WPEC Facilitator, Members expressed a shared interest in discussing specific aspects of electronic commerce legislation with a view to tying those discussions with Members' experiences in developing digital strategies. In this regard, Members saw benefit in the WTO Secretariat compiling "Members' laws, regulations and practices on e-commerce-related topics as a tool to support the development of Members' regulatory frameworks".^[4] This would also provide enhanced transparency and predictability for businesses. Going forward, Members could identify areas of convergence where further exchange through the Work Programme would be helpful.

B.     Bridging the Digital divide

1.6.  According to ITU, in 2024, 5.5 billion users have access to the internet. This represented 68% of the global population. However, a staggering 2.6 billion people remained offline. Despite the challenges posed by the digital divide, many developing countries are finding innovative ways to incorporate digital industrialization. ACP Members are leveraging mobile technologies, government initiatives, and international support in order to create new opportunities for economic development, including the use of digitally enabled services in ASYCUDA, e-import/export permits and licenses, e-passport systems, and digital tax services.

1.7.  In the MC13 decision, Ministers specifically recognized the need for collaboration with other institutions and agreed:

 ... to engage on the main trade-related challenges faced by developing and least-developed country Members in the development of their digital economy, including the need for training and technical assistance, and, as a priority, identify gaps in support of addressing the digital divide, including for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to realize the potential of the digital economy. 

1.8.  Fundamental challenges, which exacerbate the digital divide, continue. An audit to identify gaps to address the divide requires more precision. Under the Work Programme in the post-Abu Dhabi phase, the ACP Group has continued to highlight several difficulties in technology uptake and accessibility, including high capital costs and license fees, as well as the gap in relation to the number of available secure servers across ACP countries. This gap results in difficulties in exploiting data generated locally. Moreover, given the rapid growth of digital and AI as well as the importance of data, there is a need to preserve the right to regulate in order for developing countries to draw benefits from data generated domestically.  In the case of AI, developing countries will need to leverage its benefits, especially with regard to policy needs in consumer and data protection and ensure that they also contribute to the data set that drives AI.

1.9.  In line with the MC13 Ministerial Decision, the ACP Group called for "training and technical assistance, and, as a priority, identify gaps in support of addressing the digital divide, including for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to realize the potential of the digital economy".[5] The Facilitator has also noted that a concrete deliverable in tackling the digital divide could involve the creation of a database that compiles information on technical assistance and capacity building programs.

C.     Financing digital infrastructure

1.10.  According to the WTO Secretariat's information note, Digital Trade: Aid for Trade Initiatives,^[6] in 2022, "disbursements to ICT infrastructure amounted to 60% of total disbursements to ICT connectivity." In addition, the LDC Group has specifically called for an examination of financing for digital infrastructure, mentioning that in 2024, ITU launched the Digital Infrastructure Investment Initiative (DIII). The ACP Group has also referred to financing innovation challenges for ACP and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in submission its _S/C/W/474 circulated in the Council for Trade in Services.

1.11.  As several Members have suggested, the WTO's convening power could be leveraged to host workshops bringing together Members and development agencies to identify needs and facilitate a matchmaking process. There are existing channels in the WTO such as the Aid for Trade initiative, which could guide Members in designating priority areas for hard and soft infrastructure development. In the case of sub-Saharan Africa, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Protocol on Digital Trade (PDT) identifies the development of digital infrastructure and connectivity as a priority area in order to "bridge the digital divide and promote digital inclusion".^[7] It enumerates several ways to enhance the digital infrastructure, which includes "Internet broadband expansion, digital literacy programmes and advanced technologies such as 5G networks".^[8]

D.     Elements from the work programme on the moratorium

1.12.  The ACP Group is supportive of a Ministerial Decision that calls for further reinvigoration of the Work Programme and that provides clear guidance on the WTO's role in this regard.  As part of the WPEC, the ACP Group continued to call for empirical analysis on the impact of the existence of the moratorium on revenues and on our consumers, including businesses and entrepreneurs. In addition, we have been learning about practices involving digital internal taxes, such as VAT, which is not covered by the moratorium.  

1.13.  The ACP Group acknowledges that the existence of the moratorium at the multilateral level has facilitated a positive context for the growth of e-commerce globally. The full implications of levying customs duties on electronic transmissions are unknown, and to date remains untested. A comparison of the Member practices since 1998 on the content of physical goods and the practice of all countries not to impose duties on digital goods could be useful information.  

1.14.  At the same time, a combination of developed and developing countries across the world have gradually introduced legislation with the objective of levying non-discriminatory internal Value Added Tax (VAT) or Good and Services Tax (GST).[9] Some work has been conducted to examine different developing country regions.[10] The work post-MC14 could entail further examination of the question of non-discrimination could arise linked to such taxes, and the extent digital taxes in effect become a barrier to market access. 

1.15.  Members may wish to consider hosting a series of workshops to explore how various countries have created systems to actually levy such taxes, any discriminatory practices, and how businesses and other consumers have been impacted. In parallel, it would be worth examining the evolution of digital trade in terms of how goods and services are exchanged^[11] to better inform discussions on the scope of the moratorium. 

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Annex 1

DRAFT Ministerial Decision

The Ministerial Conference decides as follows:

We agree to continue to re-invigorate the work under the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce, based on the mandate as set out in _WT/L/274, and with particular focus on its development dimension, taking into account the economic, financial and development needs of developing and least-developed country Members.

We mandate continued collaboration with other international organizations and relevant stakeholders to enhance coordination to address the main challenges related to e-commerce highlighted in the Dedicated Discussions held so far, and that the WTO create a joint database with other relevant institutions on training and capacity building in digital trade and financing and investment in digital infrastructure in LDCs and developing countries, including for their micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

We agree to deepen dialogue and gather additional empirical evidence on the impact of the moratorium on the imposition of customs duties on electronic transmissions of consumers and businesses in developing countries and LDCs. 

We will continue to identify gaps in support of addressing the digital divide for developing countries and LDCs to realize the potential of the digital economy.  In this regard, developed country Members, and developing country Members in a position to do so, are urged to provide technical and financial support and assistance to address data processing skills gaps, support the development of digital infrastructure as well as support essential training to strengthen digital innovation.   

We further agree to maintain the current practice not to impose customs duties on electronic transmissions until our next Session.

We instruct the General Council to hold periodic reviews on the Work Programme, with a view to presenting recommendations for action on its development dimension to the next Session of the Ministerial Conference. 

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