ZEE Business
ZEE BUSINESS
हिंदी में पढ़ें  हिंदी में पढ़ें
Live TV
Live TV
  • Home
  • Personal Finance
    • PPF
    • Mutual Funds
    • Income tax
    • EPFO
    • Income Tax Calculator
    • Personal Loan Calculator
    • Car Loan Calculator
    • Home Loan Calculator
    • SIP calculator
    • SWP Calculator
    • MF Returns Calculator
    • Lumpsum Calculator
  • India
    • Companies
    • Property
    • Startups
    • Uidai
  • Economy
    • Aviation
  • Tech
    • Mobiles
    • Apps
  • Auto
    • Cars
    • Bikes
  • Markets
    • Commodities
    • Currency
  • Railways
  • World
    • Economy
    • Politics
    • Markets
  • Survey
  • videos
  • photos
  • More ...
    • VIDEOS
    • PHOTOS
BREAKING NEWS
  • Foreign portfolio investors' exodus continues for 9th month; withdraw Rs 50,203 cr from equity market in June - know reasons
  • Windfall tax to recoup most of Rs 1 lakh cr revenue lost in excise cuts, industry sources say
  • D-Mart Q1 revenue jumps almost 2-fold to Rs 9,806.89 cr
  • This Android malware switches off Wi-Fi and drain mobile wallet
  • North Korea says US, South Korea-Japan agreement materialises US plan for 'Asian NATO'
Read in App
Business News » World News

China and U.S. among 76 WTO members pushing for new e-commerce rules

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linkedin
  • whatapp
  • View in App

Impatient with a lack of World Trade Organization rules on the explosive growth of e-commerce, 76 members - including the United States, China, the European Union and Japan - agreed on Friday to start negotiating a new framework.

China, which is locked in a trade war with the United States, signalled conditional support for the initiative but said it should also take into account the needs of developing countries, in comments likely to rile Washington.

E-commerce, or online trade in goods and services, has become a huge component of the global economy. A WTO report put the total value of e-commerce in 2016 at $27.7 trillion, of which nearly $24 trillion was business-to-business transactions.

On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, negotiators from the 76 countries and regions agreed on Friday to hammer out an agenda for negotiations they hope to kick off this year on setting new e-commerce rules.

"I`ve said for quite some time it was unacceptable that by 2018 ... the WTO won`t have a deeper, more effective conversation about a phenomenon that is driving the global economy today," said WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo.

"China was not an original signatory but now they are. They have reaffirmed their intention to start negotiations on electronic commerce. I think this is a welcome development," he told a briefing in Davos.

Japan`s trade minister Hiroshige Seko said his country hopes to use its presidency of this year`s Group of 20 meetings of major economies to help accelerate negotiations.

"The current WTO rules don`t match the needs of the 21st century. You can tell that from the fact there are no solid rules on e-commerce," Seko told a separate briefing.CHINA CRITICAL, INDIA ABSENT

China`s WTO Ambassador Zhang Xiangchen said the e-commerce declaration "could have been better drafted" but Beijing was still willing to co-sponsor it.

But Beijing`s call for "full respect (to be) accorded to the reasonable requests of developing members" could increase friction with Washington, which says the WTO must stop giving special treatment to countries such as China that call themselves "developing".

Another Asian giant, India, did not join the initiative. It has previously said the WTO should finish off the stalled but development-oriented "Doha Round" of talks before moving into new areas.

"It would always be better if we had every WTO member in it," Azevedo said. "But what is important also is that this group is open. It`s an open-ended group, so any member that wants to participate in this conversation can join any time."

Trade experts say the global trade rulebook is rapidly becoming outdated and needs to keep up or become obsolete. A recent study found that 70 regional trade agreements already include provisions or chapters on e-commerce.

The WTO`s 164 members failed to consolidate some 25 separate e-commerce proposals at a conference at Buenos Aires in December, including a call to set up a central e-commerce negotiating forum.

E-commerce, which developed largely after the WTO`s creation in 1995, was not part of the Doha round of talks that began in 2001 and eventually collapsed more than a decade later.

U.S. President Donald Trump`s administration says the WTO is dysfunctional, as it has failed to hold China to account for not opening up its economy as envisaged when Beijing joined in 2001.

To force reform at the WTO, Trump`s team has refused to allow new appointments to the Appellate Body, the world`s top trade court, a process which requires consensus among member states. As a result, the court is running out of judges, and will be unable to issue binding rulings in disputes.

While the United States was among the signatory countries of the e-commerce agreement, it did not participate in a separate informal WTO gathering chaired by Switzerland.

Azevedo said Washington`s absence was "totally and solely driven by domestic considerations" and unrelated to the country`s suspicions over the multilateral trading system.

But he voiced concern over the tide of protectionism that overshadowed discussions at Davos among the rich and powerful.

"These trading tensions are not only a threat to the system. They are threats to the whole, entire international community," he said. "The risks are very real. There will be economic impacts."

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

Get Latest Business News, Stock Market Updates and Videos; Check your tax outgo through Income Tax Calculator and save money through our Personal Finance coverage. Check Business Breaking News Live on Zee Business Twitter and Facebook. Subscribe on YouTube.

TAGS:
Economy
Updated: Fri, Jan 25, 2019
09:15 pm
Reuters
RELATED NEWS
Crisil cuts FY23 GDP growth estimate to 7.3% Crisil cuts FY23 GDP growth estimate to 7.3%
US stocks see worst first half drop in over 50 years US stocks see worst first half drop in over 50 years
Rupee hits record low of 79.11 against US dollar in early trade Rupee hits record low of 79.11 against US dollar in early trade
Retail inflation for industrial workers rises to 6.97% in May Retail inflation for industrial workers rises to 6.97% in May
GST Council Meeting: Full details of goods and services, where rates hiked or slashed GST Council Meeting: Full details of goods and services, where rates hiked or slashed

LATEST NEWS

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Stocks: Agrochemical firm Rallis India shares may surge by 23% despite pressure on margins – Here’s why?

Foreign portfolio investors' exodus continues for 9th month; withdraw Rs 50,203 cr from equity market in June - know reasons here

Q1FY23 Preview: Pharmaceutical firms likely to deliver subdued performance in domestic market, says Nirmal Bang -

Commerce Minister looking to release new foreign trade policy before September, says official

This Android malware switches off Wi-Fi and drain mobile wallet

Maruti Suzuki looks to deploy strong hybrid tech across model range

AMC Sector: Growth-oriented funds lead the strong inflows, says BK Securities – check key triggers

D-Mart Q1 revenue jumps almost 2-fold to Rs 9,806.89 cr

ED provisionally attaches Rs 96 crore assets of TRS MP promoted Madhucon Group

Windfall tax to recoup most of Rs 1 lakh cr revenue lost in excise cuts, industry sources say

  • India News
  • World News
  • Companies News
  • Market News
  • Personal Finance News
  • Technology News
  • Automobile News
  • Small Business News
  • Income Tax Calculator
  • Live TV
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Author
  • Rss Feed
  • Advertise with us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Legal Disclaimer

Latest Trending Updates

  • EPFO
  • Budget 2020
  • Income Tax Return
  • Auto Expo 2020
  • Home Loan
  • Business News

Trending Topics

  • Income Tax
  • income Tax Calculator
  • 7th Pay Commission
  • Reserve Bank of India
  • GST
  • Latest Business News

Follow us on

zeebiz
zeebiz

Partner Sites

  • Zee News
  • Hindi News
  • Marathi News
  • Bengali News
  • Tamil News
  • Malayalam News
  • Gujarati News
  • Telugu News
  • Kannada News
  • DNA
  • WION
© 2022. India Dot Com Private Limited. All Rights Reserved.
LIVE TV