WT/GC/W/739  
 
1 December  2017 
(17-6606) Page: 1/2 
General Council  
30 November 2017    
 
WORK P ROGRAMME ON ELECTRON IC COMMERCE  
REPORT BY THE CHAIRM AN 
1.1.  At the last General Council meeting in October, I reported that I had begun a process of 
consultations with a view to preparing a recommendation for a Ministerial Decision on e -
commerce. At that  meeting, I also reported on my bilateral consultations with delegations and on 
the two informal open -ended meetings that I had convened in October. You will recall that at the 
16 October open -ended meeting on e -commerce, four textual proposals were presen ted. These 
were proposals from the Russian Federation; Japan and co -sponsors; Costa Ric a; and the EU and 
co-sponsors.  
1.2.  Since then, six additional textual proposals have been submitted. These are from: Singapore 
and co -sponsors; China; Bangladesh; India; the  African Group; and Japan with co -sponsors. These 
proposals were introduced and discussed at an informal o pen-ended meeting last week 
(21 November). At that meeting, Japan and Costa Rica informed Members that they had merged 
their earlier proposals. This b rings the total number of textual proposals currently on the table to 
eight. 
1.3.  At the open -ended meeting on 21 November, I urged delegations to consider not only the 
substantive issues raised in the recent proposals but also those related to previous proposa ls. I 
sought Members views on how they envisaged our Ministers addressing this matter at the 
Ministerial Conference. In the ensuing discussions, it was evident that while there were 
commonalities amongst some of the proposals, the distance between the prop osals f urthest apart 
had not narrowed.  
1.4.  The proposals cover a range of positions. In very broad terms the positions vary from 
maintaining the current work program as it is; to formalising the dedicated discussion under the 
current work program; to establish ing a new working group to consolidate all discussions on e -
commerce; to establishing a working party with a mandate for future negotiations. The proposals 
also express varying positions on the question of the moratorium on customs duties for e -
commerce.  
1.5.  I have met several times with the delegations that had submitted textual proposals to see 
whether there were any new developments in their efforts to consolidate their proposals or in their 
attempts to bridge differences. From my most recent consultations e arlier this week, it is clear to 
me that Members ' positions have not changed in any substantial manner.  
1.6.  Therefore, based on what I have heard, it seems that the General Council has no option but 
to forward all eight proposals that are on the table to our Ministers at MC11. It also seems clear 
that the discussions amongst our Ministers on the matter is likely to be structured in large 
measure around these eight proposals.  
1.7.  We should also recall that the DG had indicated in his Report to the TNC on Tuesday t hat we 
should expect to have "Minister Facilitators " appointed at MC11 to facilitate discussions on various 
subjects, including on e -commerce. It seems clear that the discussion on e -commerce at MC11 will 
need to address issues raised in the proposals incl uding on the question of a moratorium on 
customs duties for e -commerce. That discussion will also need to take into account the linkage to 
the moratorium on TRIPS non -violation complaints – a linkage that is made explicit in one of the 
proposals . WT/GC/W/739  
 
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  1.8.  Before I conclude on e -commerce, I draw your attention to a room document compiling the 
main points of the textual proposals. It has been prepared by Japan as a room document for 
information (RD/GC/7).  
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