E-commerce – IISD Reporting Services

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Digital trade policies increasingly shape the conditions of competition in the international market. IISD’s work helps developing countries to assess how best to advance, and protect, their interests and how to build inclusive global e-commerce frameworks that advance sustainable development everywhere. We provide impartial, objective support to negotiators engaged in the World Trade Organization (WTO) e-commerce negotiations.
In today’s interconnected world, domestic and international regulations governing digital trade must serve as bridges, ensuring equitable access to the benefits of e-commerce for businesses and consumers everywhere. Our work supports the development of e-commerce frameworks that integrate sustainable development principles, such as inclusivity, data privacy protection, environmental sustainability, and digital literacy. We work at the multilateral, regional, and national levels to help shape digital trade rules that foster development and narrow global disparities.
Drawing on years of experience, we empower developing and least developed country negotiators to navigate WTO discussions on e-commerce. Through impartial analysis, we equip members with the insights needed to articulate their needs, positions, and priorities.

This article explores the global trend of governments employing policy instruments to combat plastic pollution, particularly focusing on the experimentation with regulations targeting a wider range of single-use plastic items beyond single-use plastic bags, highlighting the potential for shared learning among countries.
This article examines how the rise of e-commerce retail is fueling an increased use of plastic in packaging, and this, in turn, is making the industry one of the fastest growing waste streams contributing to the plastic waste problem.
IISD expert Rashmi Jose analyzes the future of E-Commerce negotiations ahead of the World Trade Organization's Thirteenth Ministerial Conference (WTO) (MC13) in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
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This report aims to give a stocktake of the Joint Statement Initiative on e-commerce as of December 2022 while focusing on dynamics and developments throughout the year and considering recent trends in the e-commerce policy activity and governance landscape at the national, regional, and multilateral levels.
Report
March 31, 2023
This paper highlights ways to support developing countries to participate in negotiations and implement proposed text provisions under the JSI on e-commerce.
Report
April 25, 2022
This brief examines the negotiations on services market access within the Joint Statement Initiative on Electronic Commerce among a group of WTO Members.
Brief
July 6, 2021
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This session will update on WTO e-commerce negotiations, review the draft agreement, and discuss development objectives for developing and LDC member delegates.
Webinar
July 4, 2024
This webinar aims to help WTO delegates and capital-based officials to get up to speed on the latest status of the E-commerce JSI in the run-up to the WTO MC13
Webinar
January 18, 2024
This seminar, held on Wednesday January 29, 2020, focused on the Joint Statement Initiative on Electronic Commerce. It presented the history and developments in the exploratory talks and subsequent negotiations on electronic commerce among a group of WTO Members, a process that was launched at the organization’s Eleventh Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2017.
Webinar
January 29, 2020
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Director, Trade and Sustainable Development
Senior Policy Advisor
Senior Specialist, Trade and Sustainable Development
Communications Officer
Yasmin Ismail and Rashmi Jose explore the developments in the role and dynamics of trade-related e-commerce discussions leading up to the WTO’s 13th Ministerial Conference.
Policy Analysis
January 11, 2024
Yasmin Ismail explores the recent updates of the JSI negotiation text on e-commerce and examines the impact of national policies, regional trade agreements, and digital economy accords on the ongoing negotiations.
Policy Analysis
July 17, 2023
This report aims to give a stocktake of the Joint Statement Initiative on e-commerce as of December 2022 while focusing on dynamics and developments throughout the year and considering recent trends in the e-commerce policy activity and governance landscape at the national, regional, and multilateral levels.
Report
March 31, 2023
This paper highlights ways to support developing countries to participate in negotiations and implement proposed text provisions under the JSI on e-commerce.
Report
April 25, 2022
This brief examines the negotiations on services market access within the Joint Statement Initiative on Electronic Commerce among a group of WTO Members.
Brief
July 6, 2021
This paper provides an update on the e-commerce Joint Statement Initiative negotiations among a group of WTO members, looking at developments from early 2020 onward.
Report
April 29, 2021
This paper examines the evolution of the “digital divide” concept, especially given the ongoing negotiations among a group of WTO members for new, binding e-commerce rules.
Report
December 30, 2020
This negotiating brief was prepared for the Geneva Seminar held on January 29, 2020, on the Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) devoted to electronic commerce, which involves a group of World Trade Organization (WTO) Members.
Report
January 31, 2020
IISD provides capacity building for the WTO negotiations on Investment Facilitation for Development.
Project
IISD is driving policy change at the intersection of trade, climate change, and the natural environment.
Project
This webinar aims to help WTO delegates and capital-based officials to get up to speed on the latest status of the E-commerce JSI in the run-up to the WTO MC13
Webinar
January 18, 2024
The International Institute for Sustainable Development reported that “E-commerce has grown significantly in recent years. E-commerce retail sales, estimated in 2020 at USD 4.25 trillion, make up a growing share of total retail sales and could rise to nearly a quarter by 2025. The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated this trend, which is expected to persist as consumers continue to alter their shopping behaviour.” Bhutan is no exception, particularly when it comes to informal e-commerce. However, only a limited number of e-commerce businesses in Bhutan are currently regulated, posing serious vulnerabilities for consumers due to rampant emergence of unregulated e-commerce.
IISD in the news
Kuensel
June 17, 2023

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