Overview
- Members failed to renew the 1998 ban on customs duties for digital transmissions after Brazil blocked a five‑year compromise, opening the door for countries to tax cross‑border downloads, streaming, software and cloud data.
- Economists and business groups warned of new uncertainty for companies and consumers, with studies cited by delegates pointing to possible output losses if governments start charging for digital flows.
- A separate bloc of 66 members agreed on a framework to ease online trade, with the EU, China, the UK, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Canada and Australia on board and the United States outside the pact for now.
- Backers of the digital framework plan domestic ratification and will seek to fold the rules into the WTO’s system while inviting other governments to join.
- Broader fixes to the WTO stalled, as India refused to anchor an investment facilitation pact in WTO law and the appeals wing of the dispute system remained shut, with talks now due to continue in Geneva under a new follow‑up schedule.