ICC welcomes joint statement on e-commerce moratorium, calls for a permanent solution

The International Chamber of Commerce has welcomed a joint statement issued by 23 World Trade Organization (WTO) Members committing to maintain the practice of not imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions among themselves. The move follows the failure to extend or make permanent the e-commerce moratorium at the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC14).

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Circulated on 2 April 2026, the joint statement, represents a pragmatic and constructive response to an outcome that was deeply disappointing for the global business community. It responds directly to a call made by over 230 global business organisations worldwide for governments to provide the predictability and certainty that businesses and consumers depend upon to trade, invest and innovate across borders.

ICC calls on WTO Members to use the period ahead of the next WTO General Council meeting in May to broaden participation in the joint statement, extend its duration and advance a permanent solution as part of a comprehensive, time-bound WTO reform process that the global business community continues to advocate for.

"This Joint Statement is a welcome signal that common-sense trade cooperation remains possible, even when multilateral outcomes prove elusive. The 23 Members who have stepped forward are providing exactly the kind of leadership the business community called for at MC14. But let us be clear: a temporary measure is not a substitute for the stability and universality that a permanent, multilateral moratorium would deliver. We urge all WTO Members to join this commitment without delay and to work towards embedding it as a durable feature of the multilateral trading system." - ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO.

The moratorium has underpinned the growth of the digital economy for nearly three decades, preventing the emergence of customs duties that would fragment digital trade, raise costs across global value chains and disproportionately harm micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises. ICC-commissioned research by Oxford Economics has demonstrated that a collapse of the WTO system could reduce developing country GDP by over 5%, underscoring the real economic costs of inaction and fragmentation.