WTO Forum: Indonesia to Discuss Moratorium on Digital Goods Import Duties
Trade Minister Budi Santoso stated that Indonesia’s delegation will discuss the fate of the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions, or customs duties on electronic transmission (CDET), at the 14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
According to Budi, follow-up discussions on the moratorium are important because every global policy in the field of electronic commerce or e-commerce must consider the digital divide and the development needs of developing countries.
“Indonesia believes that every decision related to e-commerce must consider development aspects and the digital divide, particularly for developing countries,” Budi said in a written statement on Tuesday, 24 March 2026.
In addition to demanding a comprehensive discussion of the moratorium, Budi said Indonesia’s delegation will follow up on the continuation of the Work Programme on E-Commerce at the WTO.
Budi explained that digital trade issues will be one of the topics discussed by Indonesia’s delegation at the forum to be held from 26–29 March 2026 in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Broadly speaking, Budi said Indonesia will push for WTO reforms so that their benefits can be felt by developing countries without abandoning the organisation’s basic principles.
According to him, reforming the multilateral trading system is important to strengthen consensus-based decision-making and provide special treatment for developing countries. “Indonesia will also continue to push for the dispute settlement system to be restored soon for legal certainty for all members,” he said.
Several issues that Indonesia will bring to the conference include fisheries subsidies, agriculture, electronic-based trade, incorporation of joint initiative agreements, and non-violation and situation complaints (NVSC).
Budi assured that these agendas have been intensively coordinated with various ministries and agencies to ensure Indonesia’s strong position in multilateral negotiations. Indonesia will also continue its active involvement in negotiations on additional provisions to the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS).
It will then continue agricultural sector negotiations by highlighting the importance of food security, including government food reserve policies. Indonesia believes that global rules in that sector must provide fair space for developing countries to maintain domestic food stability.
“Indonesia always fights for support for small farmers and fishermen in agricultural and fisheries subsidy negotiations, primarily to create fair, effective, and sustainable rules,” he said.
The Indonesian delegation at the WTO forum will be led by Johni Martha, Special Staff for International Relations at the Ministry of Trade. In addition to attending the main session, the Indonesian delegation is scheduled to participate in several ministerial-level meetings, coordination meetings of developing country groups, bilateral meetings, and various other supporting agendas to strengthen Indonesia’s position in international trade negotiations.