WTO moratorium lapse threatens digital trade

The World Trade Organization’s long‑running ban on taxing cross‑border streaming and downloads has expired after members failed to agree on an extension, with Brazil and Turkey blocking a longer ban and the U.S. pushing for permanence. Businesses that sell digital services now face the prospect that dozens of countries could begin imposing duties, creating pricing and compliance uncertainty and prompting trade negotiations to resume in Geneva. — This shift could fragment the rules governing the internet economy, raise consumer prices for digital services, and become a new front in geopolitical trade competition.