But Hayes made clear on Thursday that there was no intention of trying to establish totally free trade in electronic shopping. The U.S. proposal, Hayes declared, would not limit the right of governments to tax providers of electronically-ordered services. Trade envoys said the reaction to the U.S. proposal suggested there was general readiness in the WTO to take up the idea. But they said the wide-ranging issues it raised, including copyright and government regulation, ensured it would be some time before any agreement emerged. Although there is no overall accord in the WTO on a new round, discussions on further moves to liberalize trade in several areas start next year.
Many analysts expect the talks to expand into a full-scale negotiation.
Matt Broersma, ZDNN, contributed to this report. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.