WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
WT/GC/W/645 
18 November 2011 
 (11-5996) 
General Council 
30 November - 1 December 2011  
 
 
 
WORK PROGRAMME ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE 
 
Dedicated Discussions under the auspices of the General Council 
 
Report to the 30 November - 1 December 2011 meeting of the General Council 
 
 
1. At the Seventh Session of the Ministerial Conf erence in Geneva in December 2009, Ministers 
decided to intensively reinvigorate the exam ination of issues under the Work Programme on 
Electronic Commerce, based on the Work Progra mme and guidelines given in the General Council 
Decision of 25 September 1998.1  They instructed the General Council to hold periodic reviews of the 
progress on the Work Programme in its sessions of  July 2010, December 2010 and July 2011, the 
reports of which would be taken into considera tion during their next session, and that the Work 
Programme shall include development-related issu es, basic WTO principles including, among others, 
non-discrimination, predictability and transpar ency, and discussions on the trade treatment, inter alia , 
of electronically delivered software.  They also  agreed to maintain the current institutional 
arrangements for the Work Programme and their cu rrent practice of not imposing customs duties on 
electronic transmissions until their next session. 
2. The present report covers the work undertak en under the Work Programme on Electronic 
Commerce that has been carried out since the 2009 Geneva Ministerial Conference.   
3. A number of initiatives under the Work Programme  were undertaken in the Council for Trade 
in Services.  In response to a request by the United States in May, the Secretariat produced a 
compilation of elements related to the electr onic supply of services drawn from 23 Secretariat 
Background Notes issued on a number of sectors and modes of supply, as well as on statistics on trade 
flows in services (JOB/SERV/78).  In July, the Eu ropean Union and the United States made a joint 
proposal (S/C/W/338) on trade-related principl es to support the expansion of information and 
communication technology (ICT) networks and se rvices and to enhance the development of e-
commerce.  In September, the United States also submitted a communication (S/C/W/339) entitled "Work Program on Electronic Commerce:  Ensuring that trade rules support innovative advances in computer applications and platforms, such as m obile applications and the provision of cloud 
computing services".   
4. Five Members (Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, the Plurinational State of Bolivia and the 
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela)
 made a joint submission to the General Council, the Council for 
Trade in Goods and the Committee on Trade and Development (triple-symbol document 
WT/GC/W/635, G/C/W/650, WT/COMTD/W/179) entitle d "Effective Participation of Developing 
Countries in Electronic Commerce as a Means to Combat Poverty", which was discussed in these 
three bodies.  The submission also contained a proposal for a decision on electronic commerce by 
Ministers at the upcoming Eighth Ministerial Conference. 
                                                      
1 WT/L/274 dated 30 September 1998. WT/GC/W/645 
Page 2  
 
  5. The eighth Dedicated Discussion under the ausp ices of the General Council relating to the 
Work Programme on Electronic Commerce took place this year in meetings held on 20 and 
28 October and 9 and 16 November 2011.  A number of  informal meetings were also held.  The 
summary prepared by the Secretariat of the issues ra ised at this Dedicated Discussion is contained in 
document WT/GC/W/644. 
6. The purpose of this Dedicated Discussion was to consider the current situation of the Work 
Programme on Electronic Commerce in the context of preparations for the upcoming Ministerial Conference and to prepare the draft text on E-Commerce to be forwarded to Ministers by the General Council.  Delegations noted the various proposals and background documents made in the relevant 
bodies and that work on electronic commerce had been reinvigorated.  They expressed their interest in 
taking it forward on the basis of existing proposals and other submissions that might be made 
subsequently.  The Dedicated Discussion noted that substantive work would continue in the relevant 
bodies of the Work Programme.   
7. During the course of the four meetings that comprised the eighth Dedicated Discussion, 
Members discussed in detail the elements of the text that would be forwarded to Ministers in 
December 2011 through the General Council.  These discussions had, as a starting point, the draft 
decision contained in the submission by Cuba, Ecua dor, Nicaragua, Bolivia and Venezuela in triple-
symbol document WT/GC/W/635, G/C/W/650, WT/COM TD/W/179.  Many Members suggested that 
the 2009 Ministerial Decision on electronic commerce could also be seen as a basis for taking the discussions forward.   
8. From the outset and throughout the drafting process,  all Members showed a very high level of 
flexibility, cooperation and willingness to work toward s a consensus text.  A number of delegations 
said the proposed draft decision by Cuba and ot her co-sponsors contained a number of important 
elements that should be reflected in the text, par ticularly with regard to the emphasis on development 
and the reference to micro, small and medium sized enterprises, including small producers and 
suppliers.  In the context of the emphasis on deve lopment, the particular role of the Committee on 
Trade and Development was stressed.  It was em phasised that the draft decision should succinctly 
capture these and other relevant points. 
9. Emphasizing the importance of development a nd small-scale industries, several Members 
noted that the development aspects of electronic commerce were cross-cutting issues in other bodies 
under the Work Programme, and that the text should  take account of this.  On the issue of the 
extension of the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions, most Members were in 
favour of an extension to the Ninth Ministerial Conference in 2013.  In general, both developed-
country and developing-country Members stressed the importance of electr onic commerce to their 
economies.   
10. During the course of the four meetings of the Dedicated Discussion, Members' views steadily 
evolved towards greater consensus on the outstanding points.  Members agreed that the following text 
should be sent to the General Council:  WT/GC/W/645 
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The Ministerial Conference,  
Recalling the "Work Programme on Electronic Commerce" adopted on 25 September 1998 
(WT/L/274), and pursuant to the mandate assigned by Members in the Seventh Session of the Ministerial Conference (WT/L/782) to intensively reinvigorate that work with a view to the 
adoption of decisions on that subject at its next session, to be held in 2011, 
Decides: To continue the reinvigoration of the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce, based on its 
existing mandate and guidelines and on the basis of proposals submitted by Members, including the development-related issues unde r the Work Programme and the discussions on 
the trade treatment, inter alia , of electronically delivered software, and to adhere to the basic 
principles of the WTO, including non-discriminati on, predictability and transparency, in order 
to enhance internet connectivity and access to all information and telecommunications 
technologies and public internet sites, for the growth of electronic co mmerce, with special 
consideration in developing countries, and par ticularly in least-developed country Members.  
The Work Programme shall also examine access to electronic commerce by micro, small and 
medium sized enterprises, including small producers and suppliers, 
To instruct the General Council to emphasize and reinvigorate the development dimension in 
the Work Programme particularly through th e CTD to examine and monitor development-
related issues such as technical assistance, cap acity building, and the facilitation of access to 
electronic commerce by micro, small and medium sized enterprises, including small 
producers and suppliers, of developing countries and particularly of least-developed country 
Members.  Further, any relevant body of the Work Programme may explore appropriate 
mechanisms to address the relationship between electronic commerce and development in a focused and comprehensive manner, 
To further instruct the General Council to hol d periodic reviews in its sessions of July and 
December 2012 and July 2013, based on the re ports submitted by the WTO bodies entrusted 
with the implementation of the Work Programme, to assess its progress and consider any recommendations on possible measures related to  electronic commerce in the next session of 
the Ministerial Conference, 
We decide that Members will maintain the curre nt practice of not imposing customs duties on 
electronic transmissions until our next session, which we have decide d to hold in 2013. 
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