./.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/GC/W/93
23 July 1998
(98-2915)
Original:  English
WTO WORK PROGRAMME ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
Communication from Egypt
The following communication has been received on 15 July 1998 from the delegation of
Egypt, with the request that it be circulated to Members.
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1. The Second WTO Ministerial Conference adopted a Declaration on Electronic Commerce
that requires the General Council to establish a co mprehensive work program to examine all trade-
related issues relating to global electronic commerce by its next meeting in special session which will
take place in September 1998.
2. According to the Ministerial Declaration:
- The examination of electronic commerce in the WTO will be limited to trade-related
issues relating to global electronic commerce.
- This examination will take into account the economic, financial and development
needs of developing countries.
- It will recognize work undertaken in other international fora.
3. The Delegation of Egypt believes that electronic commerce is a multidimensional and a
complicated area with far-reaching implications.  Hence, work in the WTO should be done in stages.Initially, the General Council should request that wo rk be undertaken in four subsidiary bodies:  the
Council on Trade in Goods, the Council on Trade in Services, the Council on Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property Rights, and the Committee on Trade and Development.  This would aim at
ensuring that the issue is dealt with in a coherent manner and that it is not unduly fragmented.  These
bodies should report to the General Council on a specific date to be decided by the General Council inSeptember.  If necessary, additional work can be undertaken by other subsidiary bodies at a later
stage.
4. The delegation of Egypt suggests the following elements for the work programme:
(a) the General Council should request the three councils to examine the legal treatment
of electronic transactions in relation to the provisions of the instruments that fall
within their competence.  We expect that a large number of electronic transactions
would already be covered by existing agreements.  However, during this examination,
if generic or cross sectoral issues are identified that would benefit from a moreWT/GC/W/93
Page 2
general consideration rather than by a specific council, they should be reported to the
General Council with possible recommendations on how they may be addressed
subsequently.
(b) the General Council should request the Committee on Trade and Development to
examine the development implications of electronic commerce taking into account
the economic, financial and development needs of developing countries, including the
benefits that electronic commerce can bring to developing countries through
enhancing their trade including by SME's.
5. A mechanism should be found to facilitate receiving contributions from other international
fora in the most effective way.  We should avoid having the same contribution presented to variousWTO bodies. To avoid possible duplication it might be useful to have contributions presented to the
General Council before the issues are addressed by the subsidiary bodies.  More detailed contributions
on specific issues can be dealt with in the respective subsidiary bodies on a case-by-case basis.
6. We value the contribution that may be provided by the private sector in this area.  We believe
that this contribution should be channeled in a similar manner to the established practice that was
followed in seminars that were held by the WT O or jointly with UNCTAD in the areas of trade
facilitation, trade and competition policy, and trade and investment.
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