USTR Statement U.S. Encouraged by Strong Message on E-Commerce from the WTO General Council. December 8, 2000. HTML Okinawa Charter on Global Information Society Creation of G-8 Digital Opportunity Taskforce. July 25, 2000. The Act does not diminish the protections offered by any Federal or State law relating to the rights of consumers, other than to eliminate requirements that contracts and other records be written and signed on paper.
Consumers retain the choice to do business and receive records on paper or online.
Before notices and disclosures may be sent electronically, consumers must give their consent and the firm must verify that the consumer will be able to access electronically the information that will be provided. Both parties supported an extension of a current moratorium on new, Internet-specific taxes. The moratorium went into effect in 1998 and is set to end in October 2001. Efforts to move legislation stalled after governors requested broader authority to collect current sales taxes from online vendors. An examination of the issues that need to be addresses in order to ensure the continued development of global electronic commerce.