May 19, 1998

Geneva, 18 May (Chakravarthi Raghavan) -- The United States delegation was reported Monday morning as still trying to gather support, and get others to agree, to 'comprehensive work programme' at the WTO on socalled electronic commerce. 

Couched as a "declaration", the US would like to get the Ministers agree to mandate the General Council to undertake immediately to establish a comprehensive work programme covering all "trade-related issues relating to global economic commerce, including those issues identified by any member." 

As a part of this, the US wants the declaration to be accompanied by a standstill on "current practice" of not imposing customs duties on electronic transmission.  

Though the call for such a 'standstill' is preceded by a call asking the General Council to produce a report on its work programme and submit recommendations to the third ministerial meeting, the standstill itself is in fact 'time-less' -- presumably unless reversed by the WTO consensus process. 

According to reports, several delegations are balking at the 'standstill' or agreeing to this without 'quid pro quo' in some areas of interest to them.  

The draft is being 'negotiated' bilaterally and plurilaterally by the United States and one or two others, and has not so far been brought up for the WTO General Council process to go before the Ministers.  

Whether this would take place, and whether those, like Jamaica's Anthony Hill, who have already raised the entire issue of the legality of such plurilateral negotiations outside the WTO, being brought in later and incorporated, will agree to this is not clear. 

The US delegation is said to be 'optimistic' about the declaration, while others say only a 'non-binding' text, that leaves it up to the General Council to discuss and agree by consensus on a work programme, may get through this Ministerial.