UPDATE 1-19 members of the WTO, including US, agree among themselves not to impose duties on e-commerce

On Thursday, 19 ​countries, including the U.S., Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, Norway and Argentina, ⁠announced the pact, agreed among themselves, not to impose duties on electronic transmissions for an unspecified period. The ⁠final ​text confirmed that it would come into effect on May 8, while expressing disappointment at the lapse of the multilateral moratorium.

​The U.S. and more than ​a dozen other countries including Japan, ‌South ​Korea, Singapore and Australia on Thursday launched their own pact to not impose duties on e-commerce after no ‌agreement was reached to end deadlock with Brazil, a document showed. Brazil had opposed an extension of a global deal at World Trade Organization talks.

Failure at a high-level WTO ‌meeting in Yaounde, Cameroon, in March to renew the long-standing moratorium on duties ‌for cross-border streaming and downloads marked another setback for the WTO's role in setting global trade rules. The moratorium, agreed in 1998 and regularly renewed since, bars duties on cross-border electronic transmissions such ⁠as streaming ​music or films ⁠and downloading software.

WTO members with large digital economies - including the U.S., the European Union, Canada and ⁠Japan - argue it provides predictability for global digital trade and want it made permanent. On Thursday, 19 ​countries, including the U.S., Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, Norway and Argentina, ⁠announced the pact, agreed among themselves, not to impose duties on electronic transmissions for an unspecified period.

The ⁠final ​text confirmed that it would come into effect on May 8, while expressing disappointment at the lapse of the multilateral moratorium. "Nonetheless, this group of Members ⁠remains committed to do what we can to provide to businesses and consumers a ⁠measure of predictability and ⁠certainty in the absence of the multilateral E-Commerce Moratorium," the document, dated 7 May, said.

The document invited other members to ‌join ‌the agreement.