NEW DELHI – World Trade Organization talks in Cameroon have reached an impasse over a moratorium on e-commerce, with the United States seeking a long-term freeze on countries that impose taxes on digital downloads and streaming, while India is so far unwilling to agree to such a period.Starting two years ago, India has signaled its willingness to reach four, with the WTO draft proposing a moratorium until June 2031, two people familiar with the ministerial-level talks told TOI.But before the ministers move on, the United States and Brazil must reach common ground on agricultural liberalization. Talks are currently underway between the United States and Brazil before the ministers move to the issue of e-commerce. Here, African countries also called for support and technical assistance before agreeing on the final text.
For more than 25 years, WTO members have supported a rule of no tariffs on electronic transfers. While India used it as a bargaining chip in every ministerial meeting.For India, the big win is its ability to keep investment-for-development facilitation outside the WTO framework despite ultimately standing on its own. It called for the establishment of “guardrails” against the use of multilateral agreements, which are agreements between a selected group of member states. India has indicated its willingness to support discussions on reforms, but it is the United States that is stalling the issues despite indicating in the past that the WTO is not moving anywhere.The talks are expected to end in the next few hours as the ministers have begun to leave Cameroon and the ministerial meeting will not take additional time.