May 14, 2026

Nineteen WTO members reach deal not to impose duties on e-commerce

According to news media sources, several members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) have agreed to not impose customs duties on e-commerce transactions.

A WTO moratorium had exempted data flows from cross-border tariffs since 1998 and had been renewed at WTO Ministerial conferences since then. But failure to approve a renewal at the 14th conference implied expiry on March 30th.

Without the moratorium, WTO members could apply customs duties on electronic transmissions like downloads and streaming, although no such thing has happened yet.

Last week about 20 members of the WTO agreed among themselves not to impose duties on e-commerce. The full accurate list of the countries has not been officially released but sources list Argentina, Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan, Norway, Singapore, South Korea and the United States.

Once made public, the list of countries that agreed to not impose customs duties on e-commerce transactions will bring certainty to e-commerce trade between the signatories.