Photo: Chen Xia/Global Times
About half of the members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have reached the first agreement on e-commerce that would permanently ban tariffs on digital transactions, Bloomberg reported on Saturday. Although it is reported that Washington showed reluctance to fully support it, the e-commerce agreement is an important success story for the organization, highlighting the strength of the multilateral trading system.
The global e-commerce market has accelerated in recent years. E-commerce is predicted to account for 41 percent of global retail sales by 2027, a significant increase from just 18 percent in 2017, according to a report released by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in 2023. Some analysts believe that e-commerce. it will be a new engine for the development of world trade, and a fertile ground to create wealth and provide many investment opportunities.
But in recent years, the development of global trade laws has lagged behind the rapid rise of e-commerce industries. Thus, the first agreement reached among WTO members is an important step to promote cross-border e-commerce.
The WTO has more than 160 members, and 91 of them were participating in the e-commerce negotiations, including China, Canada and Argentina, according to media reports. China has always been a staunch supporter of the multilateral trading system, a loyal follower of the principles of free trade and an active participant in cross-border e-commerce.
An official of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in December 2023 that China is an important part and the main supporter of the e-commerce negotiations at the WTO, and has participated in the negotiations on all items on the agenda. China submitted nine proposals dealing with more than 20 specific issues, most of which are included in the agreement.
Efforts to strengthen cooperation in e-commerce will help promote business growth, industrial development and job creation worldwide. In particular, it will help other small businesses in developing countries to connect to the global value chain. By shortening distribution channels and linking production and consumption, e-commerce can promote business collaboration by lowering costs and raising efficiency.
Accelerating the pace of unlocking the potential of e-commerce in developing countries is an important way to promote international trade. It has been proven that e-commerce can be successful in developing countries and can be a powerful tool for creating jobs for workers, women and other groups. Negotiations on global digital trade rules need to address the problems of most WTO members, especially developing countries, which have a larger population than developed countries.
The world economy is still heavily influenced by developing countries. Some developing countries have grown faster and more consistently than others. In the past decades, this economy has been closely integrated with global markets. In the field of e-commerce, global negotiations should listen to the voices of developing countries, and promote international cooperation on the basis of full consideration of the interests of all member countries, including developing countries.
There is a long way to eliminate all barriers to free e-commerce business. Participants may still struggle to make their agreement a formal WTO agreement because that would require agreement among all WTO countries, according to Reuters. It is very sad to see the US, the world’s greatest power, playing a negative role and hindering the world’s collective efforts.
There may be differences between the US and a large number of developing countries in various sectors, including cross-border data flows. We hope that the US will consider the general situation of the development of e-commerce and deal with trade conflicts properly, instead of protecting its power and hindering the world’s efforts to to strengthen e-commerce cooperation.
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