WT/GC/W/756  
 
17 December 2018  
(18-7946) Page: 1/2 
General Council  
12 December 2018    
 
ITEM 4 – WORK PROGRAMME ON E LECTRONIC COMMERCE – REVIEW OF PROGRESS  
REPORT BY THE CHAIRM AN 
1.1.  At MC11, Ministers adopted a Decision on the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce. In 
this Decision, Ministers decided to continue the work under the Work Programme on Electronic 
Commerce and instructed the General Council to hold periodic reviews in its sessions of July and 
December 2018 and July 2019, based on the reports that may be submitted by the WTO bodies 
entrusted with the implementation of the Work Programme – and these are the Councils for Services, 
Goods and TRIPS, and the Committee on Trade an d Development.   
1.2.  In this respect, let me start by providing a very brief overview of the work that has been taking 
place in each of the four bodies.  The Chairs of the Council for Trade in Services and of the Council 
for Trade in Goods submitted written re ports to the General Council under their own responsibility.  
These reports are contained in S/C/56 and G/C/64, respectively, and give an overview of the 
discussions that took place in the two Councils since our last review of progress in July.  
1.3.  As regar ds the TRIPS Council, there has been no new development  since our review in July as 
no discussion of the work under the Work Programme took place at the Council 's meeting in 
November. Under "Other Business", the TRIPS Council Chair noted the absence of any mo vement 
and recalled that interested delegations could request the inclusion of an item for the Council 's next 
meeting in February.  
1.4.  With respect to the CTD, the Work Pr ogramme on e -Commerce was included  on the agenda of 
all its three meetings this year. Alt hough some preliminary ideas were shared about possible work 
in the CTD in this area, there are no concrete proposals on the table. Nevertheless, a number of 
delegations indicated their interest, and the Committee will revert to the Work Programme on 
E-Commerce at its next meeting.  
Report  on the informal open -ended meeting of 27 November 2018  
1.5.  At the last General Council meeting in October, I mentioned that I had held consultations with 
Members on how to move forward the discussion on the e -commerce moratori um, following the 
submission by South Africa and India (WT/GC/W/747). Based on the views expressed by Members, 
I convened an informal open -ended meeting on 27 November. The suggested topics for discussion 
included the scope and definition of electronic tra nsmissions; revenue implications of the 
moratorium; the technical feasibility of imposing customs duties; and the broader impact of the 
moratorium on trade and industrialisation.  
1.6.  We had a productive discussion. India and South Africa recalled their object ive of having a 
fresh examination of the impact of the moratorium. In their view, the impact of the moratorium 
needed to be understood from the revenue point of view and its continuation should be examined 
based on concrete facts and statistics. Several de legations saw merit in having further work and 
research on the scope of the moratorium and highlighted the need to take into account the 
developmental  dimension.  WT/GC/W/756  
 
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  1.7.  Other delegations noted how the moratorium had encouraged e -commerce and provided 
predictabil ity. On the scope of the moratorium, these delegations ' view was that it includes the 
content, otherwise the moratorium would be meaningless. Regarding the technical feasibility of 
imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions, they noted the difficu lty and burden of 
determining the specific amounts and value of electronic transmissions. As mentioned during the 
bilateral consultations, some delegations noted that Members were free to impose internal taxes 
and charges.  
1.8.  In conclusion, as noted during m y bilateral discussions and at the informal open -ended 
meeting, I welcome continued discussion on this issue, which is in line with Ministers ' decision to 
"reinvigorate" the Work Programme. Clearly all issues raised require more analysis and information. 
In that regard, further suggestions and contributions would be useful. It is my hope that discussions 
can continue in a transparent, inclusive and Member -driven manner, keeping in mind the need for 
a decision on the moratorium by the end of 2019. I remain r eady to consult further with delegations.  
 
 
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