Overview
- Negotiators in Yaoundé said Sunday’s final session opened with no breakthrough on renewing the ban on customs duties for electronic transmissions such as downloads and streaming, and business groups warned a lapse would trigger new digital tariffs.
- India has offered a two‑year extension to the moratorium after questioning further rollovers earlier in the week, shifting from a harder line but stopping short of backing a long‑term deal.
- The United States says only a permanent ban is acceptable, and diplomats are probing a longer “pathway to permanence” of five to ten years alongside a draft that adds support for developing members and a review clause.
- Ministers also struggled to lock in a detailed roadmap for WTO reform, with splits over faster decision‑making, how to police subsidies, and whether to rethink the Most‑Favoured‑Nation rule that requires equal treatment for trading partners.
- India continued to block bringing the China‑backed Investment Facilitation for Development pact into WTO rules without consensus safeguards, leaving it increasingly isolated after Türkiye dropped its objections.