SINGAPORE: Singapore and nine other economies on Monday (Mar 16) backed the creation of a permanent World Trade Organization (WTO) moratorium that prevents countries from imposing tariffs on electronic transmissions such as software downloads, streaming content and other digital products.
They expressed support for such a measure in a ministerial declaration issued after a virtual meeting of the Future of Investment and Trade (FIT) Partnership, chaired by Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong.
According to the International Chamber of Commerce, the WTO e-commerce moratorium currently in place “keeps digital trade tariff-free, cutting costs and barriers for small businesses, creators and entrepreneurs worldwide”. The moratorium is a temporary one, which will expire unless it is renewed.
The declaration, titled the Declaration on Strengthening the Rules-Based Trading System, comes ahead of the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference in Yaounde, Cameroon, from Mar 26 to 29, where the moratorium is due to be renewed. If WTO members fail to agree to renew the moratorium, it will expire at the close of the conference.
In the virtual meeting, members of the FIT Partnership committed to “advance a broader and longer-term agenda … to strengthen the rules-based trading system”.
They also pledged to incorporate two agreements – the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement (IFDA) and the E-Commerce Agreement (ECA) – into the WTO’s legal framework.
The IFDA aims to help WTO members attract and retain more and higher-quality investment, while the ECA aims to ensure an open environment for digital trade and promote trust in e-commerce.
Additionally, FIT Partnership members committed to improving the WTO dispute settlement system by using the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA).
The MPIA, which is a temporary appeal arrangement based on arbitration, prevents parties from filing an appeal that would prevent the dispute from reaching a final resolution.
The declaration was endorsed by representatives and ministers from Costa Rica, Iceland, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Rwanda, Singapore, Switzerland and Uruguay.
The FIT Partnership – which also includes Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, Morocco, Panama, and the United Arab Emirates – was formed in September 2025.
Singapore is serving as the coordinating chair of the partnership in its inaugural year.
The partnership of small, medium and trade-dependent countries aims to support fair and open trade as global markets face increasing fragmentation.
Following the group’s unveiling at a virtual ministerial meeting attended by WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Investment (MTI) described the partnership as “agile and informal”.
Despite being non-binding, members use the partnership as a platform for collaboration on a range of trade topics and supporting the rules-based trading system.