Statement by Video Games Europe on the WTO E-Commerce Moratorium

Video Games Europe expresses its deep concern at the failure of WTO Members to renew or make permanent the longstanding moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions, a development that reflects broader challenges facing the multilateral trading system and is particularly concerning for the global business community.

For more than 25 years, the moratorium has provided a stable and predictable foundation for the digital economy. For the video games sector in particular, it has enabled the development of innovative business models, seamless cross-border distribution, and the delivery of high-quality interactive experiences to players worldwide. Modern video games rely extensively on digital distribution, continuous updates, downloadable content and online services, all of which depend on the free flow of electronic transmissions across borders. Without the moratorium, many national video game industries would have faced significant barriers to reach global players and investors. Tariffs and customs duties on digital transmissions would have increased costs, slowed distribution, and discouraged smaller studios from entering export markets. The moratorium has been a critical enabler of the video games sector’s rapid international growth and competitiveness.

The lapse of the moratorium introduces significant legal and commercial uncertainty at a critical moment for the global economy. It creates the risk that customs duties could be applied to digital content, including video game downloads and updates, increasing costs for consumers, disrupting established business models, and contributing to the fragmentation of the global digital marketplace. It also raises complex and unresolved questions regarding the classification and valuation of electronic transmissions, with the potential for divergent national approaches and increased compliance burdens.

As highlighted by the wider business community, the absence of agreement in this area risks undermining confidence in the ability of the WTO to deliver practical outcomes that support modern trade. For a sector such as video games, which is inherently global and digitally delivered, this uncertainty is particularly acute.

The video games industry depends on open markets, legal certainty and the ability to scale across borders. The introduction of tariffs on electronic transmissions would represent a fundamental shift away from these principles and would disproportionately impact consumers, developers and publishers, including the many small and medium-sized enterprises that rely on digital channels to reach international audiences.

Video Games Europe therefore calls on WTO Members to urgently restore the moratorium and to work towards a permanent, multilateral solution that preserves the duty-free treatment of electronic transmissions. In parallel, we support continued efforts by like-minded partners to advance cooperative approaches that maintain the free flow of digital content and services.

Safeguarding an open, predictable and rules-based digital trade environment is essential to sustaining innovation, growth and consumer access in the video games sector and the wider digital economy. We encourage the European Union to continue to play a leading role in advancing a permanent, multilateral solution and in promoting open digital trade globally.