World Trade Organisation (WTO)’s 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) held in Yaoundé, Cameroon has ended without any consensus on key agenda items. This includes a decision on WTO's work programme on electronic commerce and the continuation of the existing moratoriums on customs duties for electronic transmissions and non-violation complaints under the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

Unless the next General Council meeting of WTO being planned in Geneva comes up with a solution, the end to the longstanding moratorium on e-commerce taxation is certain. It will allow member countries to tax cross border e-services, a right India has been seeking for long. On the other hand, an end to the moratorium on so-called “non-violation complaints” under the TRIPS Agreement would mean increased risk of litigation against countries that issue compulsory licenses to manufacture low cost versions of patent protected medicines on public health grounds. India is among the WTO members that have the capability to produce generic versions of patented medicines.

“WTO’s MC14 ends in deadlock, with key decisions pushed to Geneva for an unspecified date," says Ajay Srivastava, founder of Delhi-based Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).

Meanwhile, an official statement from WTO said ‘MC14 concluded early 30 March with ministers adopting a number of decisions as well as making a commitment to continue work in Geneva on key outstanding issues’.

"We are very close to a Yaoundé package of agreements that would be important for members and the future of the organization," said Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, WTO.  "But we are not all the way there yet."

"In the circumstances, we believe that it would be appropriate to preserve the important texts we have developed here and use them as a basis to finalize agreements in Geneva at the next General Council meeting."

According to WTO, the emerging Yaoundé package that members would be bringing back to Geneva include the following draft Yaoundé Ministerial Declaration on WTO Reform and Work Plan, the draft Ministerial Decision on Electronic Commerce, the draft Ministerial Decision on the Moratorium on TRIPS Non-Violation and Situation Complaints and the least developed country (LDC) package.

The existing moratoriums related to customs duties on electronic transmissions and TRIPS non-violation and situation complaints will expire at the end of this month, DG said.