This study analyses the extent to which e-commerce provisions in existing RTAs can be
multilateralised. E-commerce has been recognised as an important engine for growth and development, yet
WTO negotiations in this area have yielded very little progress so far. Against the backdrop of WTO
stalemate, an increasing number of RTAs adopted specific provisions and rules for e-commerce. While
these provisions increase the tradability of e-commerce, they also risk the creation of an e-commerce
spaghetti bowl that will undermine the prospects for future WTO consensus in this area. This study
considers two broad approaches for multilateralisation of RTA provisions. First, it suggests bottom-up
multilateralisation extending RTAs e-commerce undertakings and provisions to a larger number of trading
partners. Second, it proposes top-down multilateralisation which can advance e-commerce provisions,
commitments and common learning at the WTO level. Both approaches to multilateralisation emphasise
the importance of common definitions, rule-making and extension of bilateral liberalisation undertakings.
The study highlights that despite the proliferation of e-commerce provisions in RTAs, many commonalities
exist thus increasing the possibility of multilateral convergence.
