African countries are currently considering provisions in the AfCFTA and at the WTO to liberalise digital trade. As they face mounting fiscal pressures, it is imperative that they beware the implications of digital trade provisions for their ability to tax their digital economy. In this paper, we develop a comprehensive framework for analysing the impact of trade rules on tax regimes in the digital economy, with a focus on Kenya, Rwanda, and South Africa. We explore how trade rules ostensibly shape tax policies and their implications for revenue generation. By examining rules regulating trade in services and the imposition of customs duties on electronic transmissions, we identify how these rules may directly impact tax policies and limit revenue generation possibilities. Moreover, digital trade rules, such as those related to data flows, localisation, and source code sharing, have the capacity to produce both indirect and administrative effects on tax measures. These rules can alter tax structures, taxation rights, data collection, and the capacity to monitor and implement tax measures.
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Corporate Greed and Rich Countries’ Cowardice Lead WTO to Abandon Proposed Sharing of COVID Treatment Technologies
For Immediate Release: Jan. 30, 2024
Contact: Emily Leach, mailto:eleach@citizen.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last night, news broke that the World Trade Organization (WTO) is preparing to reject a proposal that would have relaxed pharmaceutical monopolies and supported global sharing of COVID-19 therapeutic and diagnostic technologies.
In response, Global Trade Watch director Melinda St. Louis issued the following statement:
The World Health Organization (WHO) announces the Health Technology Access Pool (HTAP) as the successor to the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP).
C-TAP was launched in May 2020 by WHO, the Government of Costa Rica and other partners to facilitate equitable and affordable access to COVID-19 health products for people in all countries. The platform provided a much-needed forum for technology partners to voluntarily share intellectual property, knowledge, and data in order to accelerate technological innovation and expand access to COVID-19 tools.
Despite the challenges faced in establishing a novel mechanism during a pandemic with limited resources, C-TAP secured 6 transparent, non-exclusive global licenses involving 15 technologies that span R&D tools, diagnostics, and vaccines – including the first from a private manufacturer. HTAP builds on the foundation laid by C-TAP while incorporating structural, process and other changes that will enable it to attract and support a diverse range of priority technologies more effectively.
Developed countries have managed to push the TRIPS waiver talks over the precipice.
After an arduous push uphill since the time developing countries led by South Africa and India, first brought the proposal to the WTO in October 2020, the “waiver” talks will soon be concluded, failing to reach consensus among members. (The original proposal had sought a time-bound temporary waiver of certain IP rules boost production of COVID-19 medical products.)
In its wake, however, the long-running “Waiver” discussions have revitalized, and brought under the scanner the relationship between intellectual property and public health. It has also entrenched further, the turf wars in the policy spheres of health and trade.
The 15 January 2024 chair’s text (INF/ECOM/85) for the Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) on electronic commerce is to be discussed in a round from 30 January to 2 February 2024. This is not an agreed text. It is the work of the co-convenors from Australia, Japan and Singapore.
The previous consolidated text of 15 November 2023 (INF/ECOM/62/Rev.5) was produced after the US notified the withdrawal of its support for several core provisions relating in particular to data. The current chairs’ text centres on the more transactional provisions of that text, plus making the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions permanent. The cover note says the remaining provisions have not been dropped and remain “a comprehensive record of proposals, attributions and drafting notes”.
Some provisions still have placeholders for further discussion in the January round.
Significantly, the outstanding provisions include development, exceptions and the scope of the agreement – all fundamentally important, especially for developing countries.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is struggling to control a far deadlier form of mpox, known as clade one, which is spreading unchecked
Children account for a majority of infections and deaths in the world’s worst mpox outbreak, which is “accelerating” at a far greater rate than previously assumed, new figures show.
Mpox is best known for the outbreak that erupted internationally in 2022, predominantly spreading in gay and bisexual men.
But the Democratic Republic of Congo is struggling to control a much deadlier form of mpox, known as clade one, which has been spreading unchecked in the population for many years.
e one, which is spreading unchecked
At a meeting of the agriculture negotiating body on 30 January open to all delegations, the Chair, Ambassador Alparslan Acarsoy of Türkiye, introduced a draft negotiating text for members' consideration. Trade officials present welcomed the draft, which they said could serve as a useful basis for the negotiations among WTO members ahead of the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13), from 26 to 29 February.
Chair introduces draft text for agriculture negotiations in run-up to MC13
"With only four weeks to go before the 13th Ministerial Conference, the negotiations are entering their final stretch. It’s time to focus on what could be achievable at MC13, and also pave the way for a more substantial outcome at MC14," the Chair said. WTO ministerial conferences, which are the organisation’s highest decision-making body, are normally held every two years.
… U.S. negotiators working on a global treaty that aims to guide the world’s response whenever a new deadly pathogen emerges have rejected proposals to loosen patent protections, a step that could enable developing countries to quickly make their own versions of the vaccines and drugs. For those countries and their advocates, it’s a striking stance — given what happened after Covid arrived: They shared data about new variants only to see the rich world hoard most of the vaccines. “There’s a contradiction, [an] enormous amount of hypocrisy,” said James Love, director of Knowledge Ecology International, who advocates for wider access to health products, of the Biden administration’s position. Love said the U.S. has used some of the same measures developing countries have proposed to limit intellectual property rights in the production of Covid vaccines at home.
Poland on Thursday suggested that it might be better to delay the approval of a new World Health Organization (WHO) pandemic accord, beyond the planned May 2024 deadline – so as to get to an “ambitious, clear and consistent” agreement. The Polish trial balloon seemed to break ranks with the drumbeat of recent statements by WHO and other member states that negotiations should conclude this year – even if the present pathway to rapid agreement seems strewn with obstacles – including only a few more planned meetings of WHO member state negotiating teams.
India on Tuesday proposed a decision for the World Trade Organization’s 13th ministerial conference that would extend the multilateral work program on e-commerce but, notably, would not also extend the moratorium on imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions.
The “draft ministerial decision” from India, dated Jan. 23, says WTO members “agree to build on the progress since last Ministerial Conference and intensify the work under the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce ... particularly in line with its development dimension.”
“We instruct the General Council to hold periodic reviews based on the reports that may be submitted by the WTO bodies entrusted with the implementation of the Work Programme and report to the next session of the Ministerial Conference,” the proposal adds.