Responding to the failure to reach agreement at the WTO talks in Cameroon, William Bain, Head of Trade Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce said:
“Global trading businesses, including here in the UK, have been dealt another hammer blow by the failure of WTO talks in Yaounde.
“The failure of the Ministerial Conference to reach outcomes on reform and the moratorium is a grim outcome for the global economy and investors. Nevertheless, a pathway forward still exists for the draft plans to be further refined and considered at the next meeting of the WTO General Council.
“Without urgent diplomacy at the highest level, the customs duties moratorium on electronic transmission of goods and services will end in 48 hours. That will create fresh uncertainty for thousands of UK exporters, from creative industries to legal services.
“The stark reality is, that around three quarters of the UK’s £545bn in annual services exports sales could eventually be hit with extra duties if no agreement is reached by Tuesday evening.
“Minds must be focused, in the coming days, to get the WTO reform agenda back on track, and protect more UK businesses from damaging extra costs.
“At a time when the Iran conflict and US tariffs are causing spikes in inflationary pressures and lowering global growth forecasts for 2026, a solution to the moratorium issue for services trade conducted electronically must be found.
“The clock is ticking fast towards midnight on keeping the world’s services trade free of new charges, duties and taxes.”