INF/ECOM/34  
 
11 June  2019 
(19-4002) Page: 1/6 
 Original: English  
 
JOINT STATEMENT ON  ELECTRONIC COMMERCE  
COMMUNICATION FROM CANADA   
The following communication , dated 7 June  2019, is being circulated at the request of the delegation 
of Canada . 
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 TEXT  PROPOSAL   
Explanatory notes:  
- Canada submits this text proposal as a basis for discussion and reserves the right to revise 
or propose additional elements and/or provisions to this proposal.  
 
- This proposal incorporates Canada's previous text proposal, submitted 8 May 2019.  
 
- This text proposal is made witho ut prejudice to changes in Canada's position, including on 
scope, modalities, and legal architecture.  
PREAMBLE  
The Parties to this Agreement (hereinafter referred to as "the Parties "): 
Building on their respective rights and obligations under the Marrakesh  Agreement 
Establishing the World Trade Organization;  
 
Reaffirming  the importance of global digital trade and the opportunities it creates for 
inclusive trade and investment and specifically the importance of promoting an open, 
transparent, non -discriminat ory and predictable digital trading environment;  
 
Seeking to enhance the benefits and opportunities stemming from digital trade for 
businesses and consumers;  
 
Fostering improved economic opportunities and access to information and communications 
technologies for micro, small and medium -sized enterprises, as well as disadvantaged and 
under -represented groups, such as women, Indigenous persons, youth, and persons with 
disabilities;  
 
Hereby agree as follows:  INF/ECOM/34  
 
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  ARTICLE 1  
Definitions  
For the purposes of this Agreement:  
algorithm means a defined sequence of steps, taken to solve a problem or obtain a result;  
computing facility means a computer server or storage device for processing or storing information 
for commercial use;  
digital product means a computer program, text, video, image, sound recording, or other product 
that is digitally encoded, produced for commercial sale or distribution, and that can be transmitted 
electronically;  
digital trade (or electronic commerce ) mea ns the production, distribution, marketing, sale or 
delivery of goods and services by electronic means;  
electronic authentication  means the process or act of verifying the identity of a Party to an 
electronic communication or transaction and ensuring the i ntegrity of an electronic communication;  
electronic signature  means data in electronic form that is in, affixed to, or logically associated 
with, an electronic document or message, and that may be used to identify the signatory in relation 
to the electroni c document or message and indicate the signatory's approval of the information 
contained in the electronic document and message;  
enterprise  means an entity constituted or organized under applicable law, whether or not for profit, 
and whether privately or g overnmentally owned or controlled, including a corporation, trust, 
partnership, sole proprietorship, joint venture, or other association;  
GATS means the General Agreement on Trade in Services , set out in Annex 1B to the WTO 
Agreement;  
GATT 1994  means the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 , set out in Annex 1A to the 
WTO Agreement;  
government procurement  means the process by which a government obtains the use of or 
acquires goods or services, or any combination thereof, for governmental purposes and  not with a 
view to commercial sale or resale or use in the production or supply of goods or services for 
commercial sale or resale;  
measure  includes any law, regulation, procedure, requirement, or practice;  
personal information means any information, incl uding data, about an identified or identifiable 
natural person;  
TRIPS Agreement  means the Agreement on Trade -Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights , 
set out in Annex 1C to the WTO Agreement;1 
unsolicited commercial electronic message  means an elec tronic message that is sent for 
commercial or marketing purposes to an electronic address of a person without the consent of the 
recipient or against the explicit rejection of the recipient;  
WTO  means the World Trade Organization; and  
WTO Agreement  means t he Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization , done 
at Marrakesh on 15 April 1994.  
                                                
1 For greater certainty, TRIPS Agreement includes any waiver in force between the Parties of any 
provision of the TRIPS Agreement granted by WTO Members in accordance with the WTO Agreement.  INF/ECOM/34  
 
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  ARTICLE 2  
Scope  
1. The Parties recognize that electronic commerce supports inclusive economic growth and 
trade opportunities in many sectors and confirm the applicability of relevant WTO rules to 
electronic commerce.  
 
2. This Agreement applies to measures adopted or maintained by a Party that affect trade by 
electronic means.  
 
3. This Agreement does not apply to:  
 
a. government procurement;  
 
b. information hel d or processed by or on behalf of a Party, or measures related to that 
information, including measures related to its collection; or  
 
c. financial services as defined in the GATS Annex on Financial Services.  
ARTICLE 3  
General Provisions  
1. The Parties affirm the ir rights and obligations under the GATS, GATT 1994 and 
TRIPS  Agreement.  
 
2. Nothing in this Agreement affects the rights and obligations of the Parties under the 
agreements listed in Annexes 1A to 1C and Annex 4 to the WTO Agreement.  
ARTICLE 4  
Domestic Electronic Transactions Framework  
1. Each Party shall maintain a legal framework governing electronic transactions consistent 
with the principles of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce 1996.  
 
2. Each Party shall endeavour to:  
 
a. avoid any unnece ssary regulatory burden on electronic transactions; and  
 
b. facilitate input by interested persons in the development of its legal framework for 
electronic transactions.  
ARTICLE 5  
Prohibition of Customs Duties on Digital Products Transmitted Electronically  
1. No Party shall impose customs duties, fees or other charges on a digital product transmitted 
electronically.  
 
2. For greater certainty, paragraph 1 does not prevent a Party from imposing internal taxes, 
fees or other charges on a digital product transmitted el ectronically, provided that those 
taxes, fees or charges are imposed in a manner consistent with the WTO Agreement.  
ARTICLE 6  
Principles on Access to and Use of the Internet for Digital Trade  
The Parties recognize that it is beneficial for consumers in the ir territories to be able to:  
a. access and use services and applications of a consumer's choice available on the Internet, 
subject to reasonable network management;  
 
b. connect end -user devices of a consumer's choice to the Internet, provided that such devices 
do not harm the network; and  INF/ECOM/34  
 
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c. access information on the network management practices of a consumer's Internet access 
service supplier.  
ARTICLE 7  
Electronic Authentication and Electronic Signatures  
1. Except in circumstances provided for under its law,  a Party shall not deny the legal validity 
of a signature solely on the basis that the signature is in electronic form.  
 
2. No Party shall adopt or maintain measures for electronic authentication and electronic 
signatures that would:  
 
a. prohibit parties to an e lectronic transaction from mutually determining the 
appropriate authentication methods or electronic signatures for that transaction; or  
 
b. prevent Parties to an electronic transaction from having the opportunity to establish 
before judicial or administrativ e authorities that their transaction complies with any 
legal requirements with respect to authentication or electronic signatures.  
 
3. Notwithstanding paragraph 2, a Party may require that, for a particular category of 
transactions, the electronic signature o r method of authentication meets certain 
performance standards or is certified by an authority accredited in accordance with its law.  
 
4. Each Party shall encourage the use of interoperable electronic authentication.  
ARTICLE 8  
Participation in the WTO Informa tion Technology Agreement and its Expansion  
1. The Parties recognize the broad social and economic benefits stemming from open and 
liberalized trade in information technology products, including enhanced and more affordable 
access to information technology pr oducts for businesses and consumers, as well as the 
benefits stemming from the ability for businesses and consumers to participate in the digital 
economy.  
 
2. The Parties further recognize the strong synergies that exist between enhanced and more 
affordable access to products of information technology and the facilitation of participation 
in electronic commerce and the digital economy.  
 
3. Within three years of the date of entry into force of this Agreement, each Party shall be a 
party to the WTO Ministerial Declaration on Trade in Information Technology Products , 
13 December 1996 and the WTO Ministerial Declaration on the Expansion of Trade in 
Information Technology Products , 18 December 2015 and have completed all procedures for 
the modification and rectification of its Schedule of Concessions, in accordance with the 
Decision of 26 March 1980 on Procedures for Modification and Rectification of Schedules of 
Tariff Concessions.  
ARTICLE 9  
Online Consumer Protection  
1. The Parties recognize the importance of  adopting and maintaining transparent and effective 
measures to protect consumers from misleading or deceptive commercial activities when 
they engage in digital trade.  
 
2. Each Party shall adopt or maintain consumer protection laws to proscribe misleading or 
deceptive commercial activities that cause harm or potential harm to consumers engaged in 
online commercial activities.  
 
3. The Parties recognize the importance of, and public interest in, cooperation between their 
respective national consumer protection agen cies or other relevant bodies on activities 
related to cross -border digital trade in order to enhance consumer welfare.  INF/ECOM/34  
 
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  ARTICLE 10  
Personal Information Protection  
1. The Parties recognize the economic and social benefits of protecting personal information of 
users of digital trade and the contribution that this makes to enhancing consumer confidence 
in digital trade.  
 
2. To this end, each Party shall adopt or maintain a legal framework that provides for the 
protection of the personal information of the users of d igital trade, taking into account the 
principles and guidelines of relevant international bodies.  
 
3. Each Party shall endeavour to adopt or maintain non -discriminatory practices in protecting 
users of digital trade from personal information protection violat ions within its jurisdiction.  
 
4. Each Party shall publish information on the personal information protections it provides to 
users of digital trade, including how:  
 
a. a natural person can pursue a remedy; and  
 
b. an enterprise can comply with legal requirements.  
 
5. Recognizing that the Parties may take different legal approaches to protecting personal 
information, each Party should encourage the development of mechanisms to promote 
compatibility between these different regimes.  The Parties shall endea vour to exchange 
information on the mechanisms applied in their jurisdictions and explore ways to extend 
these or other suitable arrangements to promote compatibility between them.  
ARTICLE 11  
Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Messages  
1. Each Party shall adop t or maintain measures providing for the limitation of unsolicited 
commercial electronic messages.  
 
2. Each Party shall adopt or maintain measures regarding unsolicited commercial electronic 
messages that:  
 
a. require suppliers of unsolicited commercial electron ic messages to facilitate the 
ability of recipients to prevent the ongoing reception of those messages; and  
 
b. require the consent, as specified in the laws and regulations of each Member, of 
recipients to receive commercial electronic messages.  
 
3. Each Party shall provide recourse in its law against suppliers of unsolicited commercial 
electronic messages that do not comply with a measure adopted or maintained pursuant to 
paragraph 2.  
 
4. The Parties shall endeavour to cooperate in appropriate cases of mutual conc ern regarding 
the regulation of unsolicited commercial electronic messages.  
ARTICLE 12  
Cross -Border Transfer of Information by Electronic Means  
1. No Party shall restrict the cross -border transfer of information by electronic means, including 
personal information, where such activity is for the conduct of an enterprise.  
 
2. Nothing in this Article prevents a Party from adopting or maintaining a measure inconsistent 
with paragraph 1 to achieve a legitimate public policy objective, provide that the measure:  
 
a. is not applied in a manner which would constitute a means of arbitrary or 
unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade; and  
 INF/ECOM/34  
 
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  b. does not impose restrictions on the transfers of information greater than necessary 
to achieve the objective.  
ARTICLE 13  
Location of Computing Facilities  
1. No Party shall require an enterprise to use or locate computing facilities in that Party's 
territory as a condition for conducting business in that territory.  
 
2. Nothing in this Article prevents a Party from adopti ng or maintaining measures inconsistent 
with paragraph 1 necessary to achieve a legitimate public policy objective, provided that 
measure is not applied in a manner which would constitute a means of arbitrary or 
unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade.  
ARTICLE 14  
Source Code  
1. No Party shall require the transfer of, or access to, source code of software owned by a 
person of another Party, or to an algorithm expressed in that source code, as a condition for 
the import, distribution, sa le or use of that software, or of products containing that software, 
in its territory.  
 
2. Nothing in this Article precludes a regulatory body or judicial authority of a Party from 
requiring a person of another Party to preserve and make available the source code of 
software, or an algorithm expressed in that source code, to the regulatory body for a specific 
investigation, inspection, examination enforcement action or judicial proceeding,2 subject to 
safeguards against unauthorized disclosure.  
ARTICLE 15 
Transparency  
Each Party shall publish or otherwise make publicly available its laws, regulations, and policies 
pertaining to digital trade.  
ARTICLE 16  
Exceptions  
For the purposes of this Agreement, Article XX and Article XXI of the GATT 1994 and its interpretive 
notes set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement and Article XIV and Article XIV bis of the GATS set 
out in Annex 1B to the WTO Agreement apply, mutatis muta ndis. 
ARTICLE 17  
Dispute Settlement  
Articles XXII and XXIII of the GATT 1994 and Articles XXII and XXIII of the GATS, as elaborated and 
applied by the Dispute Settlement Understanding, apply to consultations and the settlement of 
disputes arising under thi s Agreement.  
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2 Such disclosure shall not be construed to negatively affect the software source code's status as a trade 
secret, if such status is claimed by the trade secret owner.