The first customs duties on digital products such as online films and software downloads will hit consumers and businesses in 2026, increasing prices in some countries, the head of the World Trade Organization has predicted.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said some governments would refuse to extend a 30-year exemption when it expired in two years' time. A further extension requires unanimity among members.
“I don’t think the membership is prepared to continue arguing over this every couple of years. So they’ve agreed on this date. It sends a signal to business on what they need to do,” the WTO’s director-general told the Financial Times. “Two years is a very reasonable timeframe.”