World Trade Organization

Digital standards

The issue of digital standards is addressed as ‘standards and regulations’ within the work of WTO.

International standards are important to the global digital economy as they can enable interconnectivity and interoperability for telecommunications and internet infrastructures. The WTO Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement (TBT Agreement) aims to ensure that technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures affecting trade in goods (including ICT  products and AI-embedded products, for instance) are non-discriminatory and do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade. The TBT Agreement strongly encourages that such regulatory measures be based on relevant international standards. The TBT Committee serves as a forum where governments discuss and address concerns with specific regulations, including those affecting digital trade. Examples of relevant TBT measures notified to or discussed at the TBT Committee include (1) measures addressing the internet of things (IoT) and related devices in terms of their safety, interoperability, national security/cybersecurity, performance, and quality; (2) measures regulating 5G cellular network technology for reasons related to, among others, national security and interoperability; (3) measures regulating 3D printing (additive manufacturing) devices; (4) measures regulating drones (small unmanned aircraft systems) due to risks for humans/consumers, interoperability problems, and national security risks; (5) measures dealing with autonomous vehicles, mostly concerned with their safety and performance, and more recently (6) measures regulating AI.

Given the increasing relevance of international standards for the regulatory governance of digital tech products, renewed attention has been paid to ‘Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations’ adopted by the WTO TBT Committee in 2000, which include six specific principles:

1. Transparency

2. Openness

3. Impartiality and consensus

4. Effectiveness and relevance

5. Coherence

6. Development dimension

These principles aim to avoid conflicting standards and provide guidance for WTO members when developing international standards. They have become widely accepted by WTO members both multilaterally and regionally, with a growing number of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) not only incorporating these principles but making them mandatory. Some international standardising bodies like ISO and IEC have embraced these principles.

In 2024, the WTO TBT Committee adopted new ’Guidelines on Conformity Assessment Procedures’ (CAP Guidelines) that recognise the importance of digital technologies in product certification and emphasise the need for flexibility in rapidly changing technological environments.

The TBT Agreement also explicitly recognises ’the contribution which international standardisation can make to the transfer of technology from developed to developing countries’.

The TBT Committee has recently started receiving notifications specifically related to AI. In particular, in the last five years, the TBT Committee has been receiving notifications of, and debating concerns raised with respect to, a significant number of regulations by members addressing cybersecurity, a cross-cutting issue essential for the deployment of, and trust in, emerging technologies such as AI. 

The TBT Committee has held several ‘thematic sessions’ where members shared regulatory experiences with respect to various digital tech-related issues, including: ‘digital solutions for conformity assessment procedures’ (2022); ‘conformity assessment and e-commerce’ (2023), ‘cybersecurity’ (2023), ‘intangible digital products’ (2023); and ‘use of digital technologies and tools in good regulatory practices’ (2023). Topics of upcoming relevant sessions include: ‘international standards for AI and machine learning’ and ‘interoperable data standards’ (2025 or 2026).

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity issues have been addressed in several WTO bodies. For example, the TBT Committee has discussed national cybersecurity regulations applicable to ICT products and their potential impact on trade. In the TBT Committee, WTO members have raised specific trade concerns related to cybersecurity regulations. Some of the specific issues discussed include how cybersecurity regulations discriminating against foreign companies and technologies can negatively impact international trade in ICT products.

In 2023, the WTO’s TBT Committee organised its first-ever specific thematic session focused on cybersecurity. 38% of all cybersecurity-related Specific Trade Concerns (STCs) raised in the TBT Committee since 1995 were raised just in the last three and a half years, showing increasing focus on this issue.

During the 2023 thematic session, participants emphasised that unilateral government interventions in cybersecurity could undermine global cybersecurity efforts. The session highlighted the need for better coordination between governments and the private sector to address regulatory fragmentation in cybersecurity.

The Agreement on Electronic Commerce negotiated under the Joint Initiative on E-commerce contains provisions on cybersecurity, which facilitate cooperation and encourage the development of national capabilities and risk-based approaches to cybersecurity with a view to reducing potential trade barriers.

More than 90 cybersecurity-related TBT measures have been notified to the TBT Committee, with approximately 65% of these notifications occurring in just the last three and a half years.

Data governance

The growth of the global digital economy is fuelled by data. Issues related to data flows have also been raised by members in various contexts at the WTO, such as under the JSI on e-commerce and in the Council for Trade in Services, for instance, when national cybersecurity measures adopted have been considered by some members as trade barriers.

According to a joint OECD and WTO (2025) report, the economic costs of fragmentation of data flow regimes along geo-economic blocks would amount to a loss of more than 1% of real GDP. If all economies fully restricted their data flows, it could result in a 4.5% reduction in global GDP and a 8.5% decrease in exports.

Intellectual property rights

The TRIPS Agreement is a key international instrument for the protection and enforcement of IP and is of relevance to e-commerce. The technologies that underpin the internet and enable digital commerce, such as software, routers, networks, switches, and user interfaces, are protected by IP. Balanced measures to enforce IPRs are important tools to ensure legitimate trade in digitally ordered goods. In addition, e-commerce transactions can involve digital products with IP-protected content, such as e-books, software, or blueprints for 3D printing. As IP licences often regulate the usage rights for such intangible digital products, the TRIPS Agreement and the international IP Conventions that are incorporated into it provide much of the legal infrastructure for digital trade.

The role of IP in promoting innovation and trade in the digital age has been highlighted in recent WTO World Trade Reports.

• WTR 2018 – The Future of World Trade – How Digital Technologies are Transforming Global Commerce
• WTR 2020 – Government Policies to Promote Innovation in the Digital Age

IP-related issues have also been discussed in the framework of the JSI, for example with regard to the access or transfer of source code. The source code or the data analysis used in the operation of programmes or services is often legally protected by IP law through copyright, patent, or trade secret provisions. Future discussions may further address this and other IP-related matters under Article 35 of the JSI stabilised text, which foresees further negotiations on outstanding issues.

Electronic commerce

WTO agreements cover a broad spectrum of trade topics, including some related to e-commerce, which has been on the WTO agenda since 1998 when the ministers adopted the Declaration on Global Electronic Commerce. The Declaration instructed the General Council to establish a Work Programme on electronic commerce. In that Declaration, members also agreed to continue the practice of not imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions (the ’moratorium’). The Work Programme provides a broad definition of e-commerce and instructs four WTO bodies (Council for Trade in Goods, Council for Trade in Services, TRIPS Council, and the Committee on Trade and Development) to explore the relationship between WTO Agreements and e-commerce. The Work Programme and the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions have been periodically reviewed and renewed. At its 13^th Ministerial Conference (MC13) in March 2024, WTO members agreed to reinvigorate the Work Programme, with a particular focus on its development dimension. They agreed to hold further discussions and examine additional empirical evidence on the scope, definition, and the impact that a moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions might have on development, and how to level the playing field for developing and least-developed country members to advance their digital industrialisation. Furthermore, members agreed to maintain the current practice of not imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions (the moratorium) until MC14. Members are continuing their discussions under the Work Programme with a view to presenting recommendations for action to the next Session of the Ministerial Conference. The focus has been on the digital divide and ways of addressing it, and on the legal and regulatory frameworks that support an enabling environment for the development of e-commerce. Discussions will also continue with regard to the moratorium. Members have also expressed interest in discussing the relation between trade and artificial intelligence (AI) as well as other emerging technologies.

At MC11 in 2017, a group of members issued the Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) on E-Commerce to explore work towards future WTO negotiations on trade-related aspects of e-commerce. Following the exploratory work, in January 2019, 76 members confirmed their ‘intention to commence WTO negotiations on trade-related aspects of electronic commerce’ and to ‘achieve a high standard out-come that builds on existing WTO agreements and frameworks with the participation of as many WTO members as possible’. As of June 2024, there were 91 WTO members participating in these discussions. In July 2024, the joint statement co-conveners (Australia, Japan and Singapore) confirmed that after five years of negotiations, participants had achieved a stabilised text. The text builds on the WTO Agreements by establishing rules aiming at facilitating electronic commerce, ensuring an open environment for digital trade, and promoting trust in e-commerce. Some of the issues addressed by the provisions of the agreement include electronic transactions frameworks, paperless trading, online consumer protection and personal data protection, electronic payments and customs duties on electronic transmissions. The Agreement also recognises that some developing and least-developed members may require extended periods of time or the acquisition of capacity to implement some of the provisions of the agreement. It therefore envisages support in response to members’ efforts. In this regard, in June 2022  the co-convenors of the JSI, together with Switzerland, launched the E-commerce Capacity Building Framework to strengthen digital inclusion and to help developing and least developed countries to harness the opportunities of digital trade. As of February 2025, the Agreement on Electronic Commerce is supported by 71 WTO members. The co-sponsors of the text have requested its incorporation into the WTO framework as a plurilateral agreement under Annex 4 of the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization.

Access

The issue of arbitration is referred to under the issue of ‘market access’ within the work of WTO.

Access to information technology infrastructure and equipment

The Ministerial Declaration on Trade in Information Technology Products, commonly known as the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) was signed at the WTO’s Singapore Ministerial Conference in December 1996. The ITA has eliminated tariffs on around 200 information technology products, including computers, semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, telecommunication apparatus, instruments and apparatus, data storage media and software, and parts and accessories. Initially signed by 29 participants, the ITA has witnessed a significant rise in its membership in the past 28 years, covering 85 WTO Members in 2025. In the same period, world ITA exports have more than tripled in value, to approximately USD 2.5 trillion in 2021.

In response to the dramatic evolution of the ICT sector since 1997, 54 WTO Members decided to expand the product coverage of the ITA to further liberalise trade in the ICT sector. These expansion negotiations were concluded in December 2015 at the WTO’s Tenth Ministerial Conference, in Nairobi, Kenya. Under the ITA Expansion (ITA II), import duties and other charges were reduced to zero on 201 additional high-tech products, such as new generation integrated circuits, GPS navigation equipment, telecommunication satellites, and medical equipment. Many of these products play a key role in health emergencies and crises, as they did during the fight against COVID‑19.

Through complete elimination of customs duties and other charges on covered products, the ITA has contributed to reducing prices and thus improved consumer access to key products such as mobile phones and computers, lowered the cost of establishing ICT infrastructure domestically, thereby improving digital connectivity, and eliminated costly administrative burdens at customs and reduced delays for goods crossing borders. In the right circumstances, ITA participation can ultimately facilitate the greater integration of developing economies into global production networks, while spurring innovation in other sectors. 

Additionally, in November 2024, Members agreed that the TBT Committee will hold joint thematic sessions with other WTO bodies on topics of relevance to the TBT Agreement, based on proposals from Members and in coordination with relevant other WTO bodies. The purpose of such joint meetings would be to enhance Members’ understanding of (and explore possible synergies with) work in other areas of the WTO, bearing in mind the scope of the TBT Agreement. Among various cross-cutting topics to be explored jointly with other committees, members agreed to hold one with the ITA Committee specifically on non-tariff measures (NTMs) under the ITA. See document G/TBT/56, para. 3.7(b)(i), pages. 14-15. Besides ICT tariff elimination, the ITA Committee also has a work programme on addressing NTMs affecting ICT products.

Artificial intelligence

Discussions on AI have started to emerge in several WTO bodies. 

In 2022–2023, the draft EU ‘AI Act’ was discussed in the TBT Committee in the context of a ‘specific trade concern’ (STC). In June 2023, TBT Committee Members organised a thematic session to discuss regulatory experiences with respect to so-called ‘intangible digital products’, in particular AI-embedded products. Further thematic sessions on the role of international standards for ‘critical emerging technologies’, including AI, are planned for 2025 or 2026. China and Kenya have also notified their respective AI regulations to the TBT Committee (2024).

The interplay between AI and IP has been discussed in the WTO Council for TRIPS under multiple agenda items, including the items on the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce, IP and innovation, technology transfer to LDCs, notification, and technical cooperation, over the past years. 

Discussions on the interplay of AI, international trade and development have also emerged in the context of the Work Programme on e-Commerce. A dedicated discussion on the topic will be held in 2025. 

The topic of AI and international trade has been integrated into WTO various technical cooperation activities and is a key focus of the WTO research agenda. The first WTO report on AI – ‘Trading with Intelligence: How AI Shapes and is Shaped by International Trade’  – was launched in November 2024 at a dedicated conference.

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