Global trade faces new questions as WTO digital trade moratorium lapses
By Bradley Dress ( May 15, 2026, 19:15 GMT | Comment) -- The failure of World Trade Organization members this spring to agree on how to proceed with a moratorium on digital tariffs underscores increasing divisions across global trade, and it risks broadening tensions and exacerbating the Trump administration’s relations with partners. The WTO General Council did not extend a moratorium on electronic transmissions, which has been renewed every two years since 1998, after a summit in Cameroon in late March and a follow-up meeting in Geneva in early May. The lapse suggests digital tariffs could be another major sticking point amid global trade upheaval first sparked by the Trump administration last year.The failure of World Trade Organization members this spring to agree on how to proceed with a moratorium on digital tariffs underscores increasing divisions across global trade, and it risks broadening tensions and exacerbating the Trump administration’s relations with partners....
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