JOB/GC/175  
 
11 April 2018  
(18-2206) Page: 1/3 
General Council  Original: English  
 
JOINT STATEMENT ON E LECTRONIC COMMERCE  
COMMUNICATION FROM  NEW ZEALAND  
The following communication, dated 11 April 2018, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of New Zealand.  
 
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1  INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  New Zealand is pleased to participate in the exploratory work toward future WTO 
negotiations on trade -related aspects of electronic commerce under the WTO Joint Statement on 
Electronic Commerce at Buenos Aires (WT/MIN(17)/60). This submission is without pr ejudice to 
New Zealand' s participation in the exploratory work and future negotiations, and any future 
submissions to either process.  
1.2.  Connectivity is a crucial driver of New  Zealand’s eco nomic growth and development. As a 
small, open economy highly depende nt on trade, information and communications technology has 
helped us connect economical ly and socially to the world. Electronic commerce has been an 
important tool for increasing the participation of MSMEs, women and rural communities in trade 
and global v alue chains, thereby helping spread the benefits of trade more evenly throughout our 
communities. Connectivity and electronic commerce ha ve also positively impacted New Zealand 
consumers by diversifying the range of products available, and by helping lower  prices by 
increasing competition.  
1.3.  Electronic commerce is already an important and long -standi ng element of the WTO's work. 
There are general rules, commitments and frameworks established by the WTO that apply to both 
physical and digital trade, and there  has been consideration of specific questions raised by 
electronic commerce since Ministers adopted the Declaration on Global Electronic Commerce in 
May 1998.  
1.4.  Since that time, the evolution of the internet and digital technology had a transformative 
impact  on the global economy and the nat ure of international trade. WTO Members, both 
developed and developing, have been making efforts to address the public policy challenges that 
this transformation presents, while also seeking to fully realize its benefits a nd the opportunities it 
presents for inc lusive trade and development. The WTO needs to engage constructively in this 
discussion too, or risk being seen to be falling behind global developments an d commercial trade 
realities.  
1.5.  New Zealand therefore considers  it is timely to look at clarifying existing rules and developin g 
additional rules on the trade -related aspects of e lectronic commerce at the WTO. Rules can 
improve legal certainty and transparency of frameworks, coordinate regulatory approaches, help 
maintain open markets, increase consumer security, privacy and trust, and promote a facilitatory 
and more incl usive trade environment.  
2  PROCESS  
2.1.  A lot of general work has been done on electronic commerce at the WTO already, from both a 
theoret ical and technical standpoint. We encourage Members to continue drawing on existing JOB/GC/175  
 
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  submissions and other resources under the 1998 Electronic Commerce Work Programme, but we 
should not duplicate the general d iscussion that occurs there. What is needed under this 
exploratory process is a more precise set of submissions that describe specific policy issues that 
can be addressed throu gh potential new trade rules.  
2.2.  Submissions should describe a trade related electronic commerce policy problem or 
opportu nity, and a proposed solutio n. 
2.3.  If multiple submissions are received on related topics, we encourage Members to consider the 
topics as a group so that different approaches can be compar ed and connections identified. While 
participants should be encouraged to make submissions in advanc e of meetings to allow for others 
to fully consider the ideas therein and prepare to engage, there should be no formal cut -off on 
submissions and Members must be free to make submissions throughout the process.  
2.4.  We continue to support discussions being hel d in an open, inclusive and transparent manner, 
and invite Members who share our goal of future WTO negotiations on the trade -related aspects of 
electronic commerce to join us. As we progress, we will bring discussions back into the br oader 
multilateral se tting.  
3  POSSIBLE TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION  
3.1.  In developing new rules for electronic commerce at the WTO, New Zealand seeks a balanced 
approach between addressing the interests of business and consumers in taking full advantage of 
the opportunities available in th e digital age, as well as incorporating safeguards to protect the 
interests of users of electronic commerce in areas such as privacy, secu rity and confidentiality.  
3.2.  Drawing on our own FTA experiences with both developed and developing Member partners, 
and w ithout prejudice to further topic s we may suggest in future, New Zealand suggests the 
following initial and non -exhaustive list of topics for consideration under the Joint Statement 
process:  
3.1  Trade facilitation provisions  
 Domestic electronic transactions fr amework : Such provisions aim to establish a basic 
framework for electronic contracting that coheres with international best practice in the 
form of the relevant well established UNCITRAL or UN documents. The nature of cross -
border electronic transactions m eans that a degree of commonality is desirable to ensure 
there are no major differences in regulatory approach that might impede electronic 
commerce across and between different jurisdictions.  
 
 Paperless trading : Such provisions seek to ensure that trade administration documents 
(e.g. for customs clearance) are available electronically,  and accepted electronically. This 
allows online trade to be fully conducted online, and enhances the ability of geographically 
distant service suppliers and manufacturers to participate in online trade.  
 
 Electronic authentication and recognition of e -signatures : The use of electronic 
authentication mechanisms is a key piece of underlying architecture to enable online 
transactions. Parties to contracts need to be able to meet  the legal requirements to make 
a binding contract, and in some cases domestic legislation (for example requiring a 
physical signature in all instances) co uld stand in the way of this. New Zealand notes that 
e-signatures were identified as one of the top t hree issues facing developing countries and 
LDCs in accessing the internet as part of the 2017 OECD/WTO Aid -for-Trade Monitoring 
and Evaluation Exercise.1 
 
3.2  Customs duties moratorium  
 Permanent extension of the moratorium on the imposition of customs duties on electronic 
transmissions : Such provisions would make permanent the temporary moratorium on 
                                                
1 See "Digital Connectivity and E-commerce:  Joint OECD -WTO Aid -for-Trade Monitoring and Evaluation 
Exercise for the Global Review 2017 " (WT/COMTD/AFT/W/72 ), paras . 41 - 42. JOB/GC/175  
 
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  customs duties on electronic transmissions agreed by the WTO in 1998, and continually 
renewed since then. Making the moratorium permanent provides certainty and 
predictability for businesses and consumers, and is consistent with the WTO 's mandate for 
trade libera lisation. In orde r to pre -empt any concerns, New Zealand suggests making 
clear that this would not interfere with Members ' right to impose interna l taxes, fees or 
other charges.  
 
3.3  Consumer focused provisions  
 Online consumer protection : Such provisions seek to ensure that Members have minimum 
legal frameworks in place to prevent the use of misleading or deceptive practices that 
cause harm to consumers engaged in online commercial activities, and provide for rights of 
redress against suppliers and manufacturers if goods or services are not of acceptable 
quality.   Part of the future success of electronic commerce hinges on increasing consumer 
trust and ensuring consumer rig hts are adequately protected.  
 
 The protection of personal information of users of electronic commerce : Such provisions 
require Members to establish or maintain a legal framework to protect personal 
information of  electronic commerce users. This ensures that consumers and businesses 
can have greater confidence transferring personal information to other jurisdictions as they 
can be assured that it will receive a comparable (or at least sufficient) level of  protection 
once it is there. Promoting gr eater commonality in approach around robust privacy 
standards is trade -enabling as it reduces regu latory complexity for traders.  
 
 Measures to address SPAM : Such provisions seek to ensure Parties will have measures in 
place to deal with unsolicited commerci al electronic messages (SPAM). These messages 
can undermine consumer trust and confidence which is a necessary pre -requisite for 
electronic commerce. Rules that protect consumers from unsolicited electronic 
communications will contribute to consumer and bu siness confidence in a wider use of 
electronic commerce.  
 
4  CONCLUSION  
4.1.  New Zealand thanks the co -convenors of this process for the opportunity to make 
submissions, and encourages all part icipants to engage actively. New Zealand looks forward to 
receiving submissions from other Members, and stands ready to engage constructively on all topics 
put forward for consideration as pa rt of this preparatory process.  
 
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