| APEC economies have committed, as WTO members, not to impose Customs duties on electronic transmissions. In particular, during the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference, WTO members adopted a decision to “maintain the current practice of not imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions” until the next Ministerial Conference (by December 2023 or by 31 March 2024, should the next Ministerial Conference be delayed). The decision also included a commitment to intensify member discussions on the topic. This project seeks to: - improve APEC policymakers’ understanding of how the E-Commerce Moratorium affects the business environment, and the impacts that any change to this could have on the business sector; - with the benefit of this deeper understanding, contribute to the engagement of APEC economies in WTO discussions. It builds on a similar CTI project in 2021 (Workshop on the application of non-discriminatory internal taxes to electronic transmissions) (CTI 06 2021S), and will focus on the impacts of the Moratorium on Customs Duties on Electronic Transmission (CDET) on businesses operating within the APEC region. The project will be delivered through a virtual workshop format with speakers representing a cross section of businesses involved in the digital economy. The workshop will enable businesses across the region to share their experiences on how the Moratorium on CDET has affected their operations, trade levels and market access, including their insights on the impacts of its removal. The workshop can also highlight some studies related to the Moratorium on CDET that discusses its effects on the business sector. |