The World Trade Organization’s (WTO) 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) ended in a sweeping deadlock, with members failing to come to a consensus on several critical issues like e-tranamission and pushing key decisions to Geneva.
One of the biggest agenda for India was to address the long-standing moratorium on customs duties on e-commerce transmissions as it will be lapsed soon, opening the door for countries to impose tariffs on digital trade. The expiry marks a major shift, particularly for developing nations that have long argued for policy space to tax the rapidly growing digital economy. Additionally, the safeguard against non-violation complaints under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) also expired. With this expiry, there could be potential challenges to public health measures, especially in developing countries reliant on policy flexibility. Without it, even WTO-compliant measures—such as compulsory licensing—can be challenged by developed countries for affecting their expected commercial gains. For India, this increases the risk of disputes over its intellectual property rules, including provisions like Section 3(d) of its patent law, said GTRI report.
The United States pushed for a permanent ban on digital tariffs, a move resisted by several developing countries. At the heart of the deadlock was the WTO’s moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions, in place since 1998. The US, supported by the EU and Japan, pushed for a long-term or permanent extension. Efforts to reach a compromise were ultimately blocked by Brazil, which linked progress on e-commerce to unresolved issues in agriculture negotiations.
India, meanwhile, held firm against the proposed Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) agreement, arguing that plurilateral deals risk undermining the WTO’s multilateral framework. The opposition prevented its incorporation into the WTO structure. India argues that bringing such plurilateral deals into the WTO would weaken its multilateral nature and allow smaller groups to shape rules. India’s stance has helped safeguard the WTO’s core principle of consensus-based decision-making, preventing a shift toward fragmented, coalition-driven rule-making.
Failing to get on a consensus, 66 countries moved ahead with a parallel e-commerce agreement outside the WTO framework, bypassing consensus-based negotiations.