Civil Society Dialogue on WTO negotiations on e-commerce

• Date: 05/12/2019, 14:00-16:00
• Location: Charlemagne Building, room Sicco Mansholt, 170 Rue de la Loi, Brussels

Meeting details

By the end of this year, six rounds of negotiation will have taken place since the start of the WTO negotiations on e-commerce in March 2019. These have seen a broad and diverse group of more than 80 WTO Members engage constructively on issues relating to both goods and services, on the basis of 26 written proposals submitted by participants, including the EU.

In its two submissions (of April and October 2019), the EU proposed to negotiate a set of broad and ambitious WTO disciplines ranging from the facilitation of electronic transactions (e-contracts, e-signatures), consumer protection, open internet access, data flows and telecommunication services, to improving market access in directly related goods and services sectors.

Discussions have overall been very detailed and have benefitted from the active engagement of a large group of Members, including the EU, the US, Japan, China, Brazil, Russia, and several ASEAN, African and Latin American countries. Divergent views on sensitive issues are also appearing, making progress more difficult in certain areas. Members are still meant to discuss the overarching legal framework.

Therefore, the purpose of this CSD meeting is to debrief civil society organisations on the WTO e-commerce Joint Statement initiative and to discuss the EU objectives and challenges faced in the negotiations. The Commission looks forward to hearing civil society views and expectations in this regard.

Speakers

Lead speaker
Head of Unit, Services, Directorate-General for Trade (DG Trade), European Commission

With the participation of the Head of Unit Policy Outreach and International Affairs, DG CONNECT, European Commission

Moderator
Head, Information, Communication and Civil Society Unit, DG Trade, European Commission

Agenda

1. State of play of the WTO e-commerce Joint Statement Initiative
2. EU objectives for the WTO negotiations on e-commerce
3. Open discussion with stakeholders

We would be grateful if participants could arrive 30 minutes in advance in order clear security and gain access to the meeting room on time. Please bring with you the confirmation of your e-pass and an ID card or passport.

Related documents

• Presentation WTO negotiations on e-commerce, 05/12/2019
• CSD meeting on e-commerce WTO negotiations report, 17/12/2019