The WTO Joint Statement Initiative on E-commerce: Navigating Digital Trade Rules in a Fragmented World

Abstract

This article examines the Joint Statement Initiative on Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce JSI), which is being negotiated at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and aims to harmonize international digital trade rules. The E-Commerce JSI is a concrete opportunity for the WTO to demonstrate the ongoing value of its rule-making function at a time when it is under increasing pressure on a range of fronts. However, it also faces several challenges to its conclusion, including resolving differences on key rules (such as on data flows and localization), clarifying the development dimension of the rules being negotiated, and finding a path to include the ultimate agreement in the WTO architecture. This article examines the early successes and promises of the E-Commerce JSI, before assessing three key challenges it now faces. It concludes that the timely finalization of the E-Commerce JSI will be a major win for the WTO, both in terms of substantive rules and in highlighting the relevance of the multilateral institution to the modern development of international trade law. It explains the key obstacles to the conclusion of the negotiation likely rest on the interlinked issues of better communicating the JSI’s development dimension, finding an acceptable compromise on the level of ambition for the rules, and integrating the JSI into the WTO architecture. E-Commerce, Digital Trade, Joint Statement Initiative (JSI), Development Dimension, North-South Divide, Digital Trade Regulations, Multilateral Trade Agreements, Services Domestic Regulation, Work Program on Electronic Commerce (WPEC)