US and Brazil "clash" over e-commerce - WTO talks end without signing agreement
Talks between trade representatives and high-level officials from some 166 countries ended without any major agreements being signed on Monday morning. The World Trade Organization (WTO) had met in the Cameroonian capital, Yaounde, for four tense days of negotiations, hoping to finalize a deal on electronic commerce, which was blocked by Brazil at the last minute.
"We worked hard," said WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, adding that the US and Brazil in particular "need more time" to resolve their differences over the agreement to impose taxes on cross-border online orders.
Given the current state of geopolitics and global trade, participants had set the bar relatively low. However, hopes for at least a common statement on future intent were dashed when Brazil vetoed the resolution on e-commerce in protest over issues stemming from a separate debate on agriculture.
The US had sought a permanent extension of a moratorium on taxes on such transactions, while Brazil wanted an agreement to extend it for just four more years.
"It's not the US against Brazil. It's Brazil and Turkey against 164 members," a US official said of the discussions, while Brasilia accused Washington of "wanting the sky."
The WTO has been in a protracted crisis over repeated failures to reach consensus, raising questions about its continued relevance. WTO representatives said talks would continue at its headquarters in Geneva until at least May.
Economists and business leaders expressed their displeasure with the impasse, with the Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce, John Denton, saying it was "particularly worrying at a time of real pressure on the global economy".
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