On Wednesday 20 December, negotiators at the World Trade Organization (WTO) announced that they had reached a number of conclusions on a series of regulations concerning the development of global rules on e-commerce.
In a joint statement, the three countries co-organising the negotiations - Australia, Singapore and Japan - declared that they had reached “a key stage” in the progress of the discussions.
Around 90 countries, including the United States, China and the EU, have been taking part in the negotiations since 2019. The WTO countries have concluded their negotiations in three main areas: the facilitation of digital trade, the open digital environment and business and consumer confidence.
The negotiators clarified the details of the Regulations on electronic authentication and signature, electronic contracts, online consumer protection, personal data protection and cyber security.
Discussions are still ongoing on how to regulate telecommunication services and electronic payments as well as the supply of information and communication technology (ICT) products that use cryptography, according to the joint statement, which adds that the aim is to “conclude the negotiations in time for 2024”.
The EU, through the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission and European Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis, expressed satisfaction with the new rules, which “will make digital commerce easier for consumers and businesses, especially SMEs, and will promote digital transformation”. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)