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US lawmakers pushed for a permanent ban on tariffs on digital products ahead of the WTO ministerial, with India\u2019s opposition emerging as a key hurdle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At a Congressional hearing, officials said extending the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions is a top priority. The rule has been in place since 1998.<\/p>\n
The moratorium bars countries from taxing digital trade such as software, data, and online services.<\/p>\n
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Adrian Smith said the United States seeks outcomes that \u201cbenefit American businesses of all sizes.\u201d He said the rule should not be used as leverage in negotiations.<\/p>\n
Experts warned that failure to extend the moratorium could hurt global trade.<\/p>\n
Stephen Ezell, vice president for global innovation policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, said \u201cIt\u2019s vital that America\u2019s foremost priority at MC 14 be securing continuation of the WTO moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lapse in the moratorium would significantly raise the cost of global digital trade and harm US digital exporters,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He added exports could fall \u201cas much as 1 per cent almost immediately\u201d.<\/p>\n
India was repeatedly named as a key player in this decision-making process.<\/p>\n
Kelly Ann Shaw, from the Akin\u2019s lobbying & public policy practice, alleged \u201cIndia in particular has held the e-commerce moratorium hostage for nearly 30 years\u201d.<\/p>\n
She said the WTO system allows countries to block decisions.<\/p>\n
Witnesses said India has linked the issue to other demands. These include public stockholding and farm subsidies.<\/p>\n
US experts also warned of risks for India.<\/p>\n
Ezell said India\u2019s digital economy accounts for \u201c11 per cent of Indian GDP\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf India ever actually got its way and we lapsed the WTO e-commerce moratorium, it would destroy their digital economy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said tariffs on digital flows could disrupt sectors such as semiconductors and data services.<\/p>\n
The hearing also focused on agriculture.<\/p>\n
Peter Bachmann said global markets are distorted by subsidies.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmerican rice farmer isn\u2019t competing against an Indian rice farmer. They\u2019re competing against the Indian government,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said India has pushed for permanent exceptions on public stockholding at past meetings.<\/p>\n
He warned there is \u201cno reason to believe MC 14 will be any different\u201d.<\/p>\n
Lawmakers also stressed India\u2019s importance as a partner.<\/p>\n
They pointed to cooperation in semiconductors, artificial intelligence and clean energy.<\/p>\n
Ezell said stronger ties would require alignment on digital trade.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they want to be a critical ally with the United States in advanced technology industries,\u201d he said, \u201cit\u2019s time\u2026 for a more mature approach to trade policy making in the global digital economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hearing showed divisions in Washington over the WTO.<\/p>\n
Some lawmakers defended it as a rules-based system. Others said it struggles to deliver results.<\/p>\n
Shaw said \u201can organization driven by consensus\u2026 is unlikely to be part of that solution\u201d.<\/p>\n
Bruce Hirsh said the WTO still plays a role. He said its rules and committees help manage trade issues.<\/p>\n
The WTO has 166 members and works by consensus.<\/p>\n
The digital trade moratorium has been extended many times but never made permanent. Its fate at MC14 will test whether the WTO can respond to the digital economy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"US lawmakers pushed for a permanent ban on tariffs on digital products ahead of the WTO ministerial, with…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":663426,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[12],"tags":[64,280695,79,1567,67,132,68,2969,135522],"class_list":["post-663425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-digital-tariff","tag-economy","tag-india","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-wto"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116247893637485786","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=663425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663425\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/663426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=663425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=663425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=663425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}