Vienna/Davos (pts026/29.01.2019/15:30) – On the 25th of January 2019, 55 leading eCommerce Associations – including the Austrian Retail Associations (Handelsverband) as representative of the Austrian retail sector – published an open letter, addressed to the trade minister of the World Trade Organization (WTO), calling for an eCommerce Framework on a global level.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, the economics- and trade Ministers of 32 Countries agreed to negotiate an international agreement for eCommerce. The negotiation process is planned to start with the end of March 2019. „We are very pleased, that our open letter had such great impact. Now it’s about bringing a viable agreement down to earth, so that the digital wild west can finally become a level playing field“, says Rainer Will, CEO of the Austrian Retail Association.

Objective: Fair taxation, free data flow and an easement in Cross Border eCommerce

At the WTO-Summit one year ago, the international community was unable to agree on multilateral negotiations, that’s why a group of 76 WTO members, including Austria, Germany, Japan and the USA agreed to lead conversations offside the WTO.

At the beginning of the year, Japan announced its intention to regulate the cross-border flow of data, or rather the national different levels of data protection, in a new agreement.

Also, the review of the taxation moratorium for electronic services from 1998, which is a long standing claim, especially from emerging countries, is on the table to be discussed.

„The Austrian Retail Association will be actively involved in the negotiations and wants to ensure fair taxation for digital champions and to help small and medium-sized domestic traders to succeed in Cross Border eCommerce“ – Rainer Will.

(Ende)

Aussender: Handelsverband Ansprechpartner: Gerald Kuehberger Tel.: +43 1 406 22 36 77 E-Mail: gerald.kuehberger@handelsverband.at Website: www.handelsverband.at