전자상거래 복수국간 협정 채택: 의의 및 전망

With the increasing fragmentation of digital trade norms, the WTO plurilateral negotiations on electronic commerce, launched in 2019, have attracted significant global attention. After five years of negotiations, the stabilized text of the Agreement on Electronic Commerce (AEC) was released in July 2024, and in February 2025, a proposal to incorporate the final text into Annex 4 of the WTO agreement was submitted to the WTO General Council. This paper examines the content of the AEC and evaluates its significance. The agreement represents the establishment of the first multilateral digital trade framework, the broad participation of over 90 countries, and a potential safeguard for the fragile moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions. Nonetheless, several limitations remain. The agreement does not have provisions on data-related issues, which are central to current digital trade governance, and relies largely on non-binding, cooperation based commitments. Additionally, the agreement's status has been weakened due to the absence of major negotiating countries like the United States. The most critical challenge lies in its uncertain legal statues: while members have sought its incorporation into WTO Annex 4, strong opposition from countries such as India renders this outcome improbable. Alternative approaches, such as domestic regulations on services or the Information Technology Agreement, are also difficult to adopt due to issues such as the classification of e-commerce. Thus, the AEC is more likely to operate outside the WTO. In any case, ensuring the implementation of this five-year negotiation outcome and enabling its further evolution remains imperative.