The renewal of the e-commerce moratorium - business as usual?

With only a few days before the beginning of the 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (MC13), WTO members have not been able to agree on whether to renew or discontinue the Moratorium on imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions (so-called E-Commerce Moratorium). The first map shows the positions of members according to four draft ministerial decisions. Two draft decisions support the renewal of the moratorium, one explicitly calls for its termination and one omits any mention of the moratorium altogether. The second map shows how members have sided on the issue of the E-Commerce Moratorium ahead of the last Ministerial Conference (MC12) and explores whether there have been any shifts. While there are no declared changes in positions, the most recent proposal of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) is noteworthy because it distances itself to some extent from India and South Africa, who often act up as advocates of developing countries.