WTO Moratorium Debate Moves to Geneva After 14th Ministerial Conference Deadlock

The future of the WTO’s moratorium on customs duties for electronic transmissions will now be decided in Geneva, after the issue remained unresolved at the organisation’s 14th Ministerial Conference last week. The moratorium expired on Tuesday, shifting the decision to the WTO General Council.

According to India’s commerce ministry, the General Council will also take up the WTO Work Programme on e-commerce, which covers trade-related issues emerging from the growth of global digital commerce. India said it supports stronger WTO engagement on key issues such as the digital divide, digital infrastructure, skills development and regulatory frameworks, particularly to help developing countries and least developed countries build their own digital economies.

Growing Divide as WTO Moratorium Debate Intensifies

The issue comes amid wider tensions over how the WTO should handle new trade rules in the digital era. India reiterated its opposition to incorporating the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement into the WTO framework, despite support from 128 members. New Delhi argues that plurilateral agreements, which apply only to signatories rather than all WTO members, risk weakening the organisation’s core principles and institutional balance.

India also signalled concern over attempts to expand plurilateral approaches without stronger legal safeguards. This is especially relevant as some members, including the United States, have backed fresh efforts to secure a longer extension of the e-commerce moratorium through narrower agreements after broader consensus proved difficult.

On the broader WTO reform agenda, India stressed that consensus-based decision-making remains central to the legitimacy of the organisation. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said members must retain the sovereign right not to accept rules they do not support, while also warning against using transparency requirements as a tool for retaliation or for challenging legitimate domestic policy choices.

India further called for a transparent, inclusive and member-driven effort to revive WTO reform discussions. At the same time, it supported extending the moratorium on non-violation and situation complaints under the TRIPS Agreement, which also expired and is now expected to be discussed in Geneva. Developing countries have long viewed that safeguard as important for preserving policy space in areas such as public health.

Source: Financial Express