Proposal for WTO debate on electronic commerce
The EU has called for a debate in the World Trade Organization (WTO) on removing the obstacles to electronic commerce, and establishing a basic set of principles to improve transparency and add legal certainty to on-line trade issues. This would involve the clarification, and perhaps revision, of existing international trade rules relating to electronic transactions. The proposed agenda for the WTO debate focuses on five main subjects: - Agreement not to impose duties on the import of on-line services; - Ensuring the effective protection of privacy of individuals; - The competition aspects of electronic trade; - Clarification of the status of electronic commerce in the WTO, in order to determine applicable WTO provisions; - Debate on electronic commerce in relation to intellectual property, government procurement, trade facilitation and information technology.