End of the customs duty moratorium on electronic transmissions

The Moratorium on Customs Duties on Electronic Transmissions was adopted by WTO members in 1998 and was intended to prohibit the imposition of customs duties on intangible goods transmitted electronically (software, television broadcasts, digital content, etc.).

After being extended several times, this moratorium expired on March 30 without WTO members reaching a compromise. WTO members are therefore now, in theory, free to impose tariffs on digitally transmitted content.

The 66 WTO members had already agreed on a multilateral Agreement on Electronic Commerce and will continue to refrain from imposing tariffs on electronic transmissions.

Some countries will maintain the status quo because of the free trade agreements they are party to, which prohibit them from imposing tariffs on electronic transmissions.

Still others will engage in bilateral discussions aimed at liberalizing e-commerce, as the EU and Singapore have done (Agreement on Digital Trade between the European Union and the Republic of Singapore, signed on May 7, 2025 ).

There is no doubt, however, that countries that have strongly opposed extending the moratorium—such as India, Indonesia, and South Africa—will begin the process of imposing tariffs on electronic products. Although these measures are unlikely to be easy to implement—if only because of the invisible nature of the borders that digital goods cross—the prospect of the imminent imposition of tariffs on electronic transmissions raises fears of a global upheaval in digital trade.

30 March 2026

by Evguenia DEREVIANKINE, founding partner