91 countries agree not to impose duties on cross-border digital data transfers

After five years of negotiations, 91 countries reached agreement on new e-commerce norms. One of the key points was the extension of the moratorium on taxation of cross-border digital data transfers, at least for the next two years. The moratorium is aimed at supporting e-commerce and small businesses.

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The Joint Declaration on Electronic Commerce states: “Neither party shall impose customs duties on data transmitted electronically between the person of one party and the person of the other party.” This agreement is of great importance, notes The Register, because it describes in detail almost everything that can be transmitted over the Internet, including video, audio, checks, electronic signatures, etc.

At the same time, the agreement leaves open the possibility of introducing internal taxes, fees or other charges on the transfer of digital data in the future, if any state wishes to introduce them. This option may be important given the ongoing efforts to get big tech companies like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Alibaba and others to pay for the traffic they generate.

Other parts of the document include a requirement for signatory countries to provide Internet access “subject to reasonable network management that does not block or slow down Internet traffic for unfair commercial advantage,” which in context sounds like a call for compliance with net neutrality, a principle through which access to any resources is provided without restrictions and without preferences on the part of telecom providers.

The moratorium on taxation of Electronic Transactions (electronic data transmission) has been extended for only two years, after which it will be reviewed. In addition, the agreement had to work around some issues in the interests of completing the document. Therefore, there are still many international meetings and disputes to come. The initiative was led by Australia, Japan and Singapore.