Digital tax and data rules are among the requests business leaders will carry into the B20 USA Summit, which runs November 9–11 at The Anthem in Washington. The B20 USA Leaders’ Statement asks G20 governments to remove “unilateral, discriminatory digital services taxes” and to restore a multilateral moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions. For companies selling software, cloud, streaming or data services across borders, both issues affect cost and legal certainty.
The tax request
The request sits under recommendation I2.2 of the Innovation Task Force, chaired by Amazon’s David Zapolsky. The statement argues that these taxes harm consumers, lead to double taxation and distort competition through user or revenue thresholds. It pairs the request with a wider call to harmonize legal, competition, tax and connectivity frameworks.
The moratorium
The trade section makes the customs duty request in recommendation T1.5, under the heading “Keep digital trade duty-free and predictable.” The issue is live at the World Trade Organization. The WTO says members could not reach consensus at their March ministerial conference in Yaoundé, and that the moratorium and the e-commerce work program lapsed on March 30, 2026. A draft decision would have extended both until December 31, 2030.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said at the time that Brazil and Turkey blocked the extension. In May, the WTO reported that Türkiye would not stand in the way of a temporary extension, and that 19 members would continue not to impose such duties among themselves from May 8.
The latest public signal came at the General Council meeting of October 5–6. The chair said no significant changes had been detected since July on the remaining ministerial issues, including the e-commerce work program. The next regular meeting is tentatively set for December 11 and 14. The G20 Leaders’ Summit in Miami opens on December 14.
The B20 statement also backs plurilateral routes. Separately, the WTO says 67 members covering about 70% of global trade adopted a pathway to bring the Agreement on Electronic Commerce into force through interim arrangements.
Data, AI and quantum
The same section asks governments to scale the Global Cross-Border Privacy Rules and to define a unified G20 position on financial data ownership by the end of 2028. On AI, it calls for regulating use rather than technology, and for regulatory sandboxes. Its shared objective is a score of at least 70 out of 100 on the Government AI Readiness Index for every G20 economy by 2030. The statement says 9 of 21 members meet that level today.
It also asks for national post-quantum cryptography plans for critical systems by 2030. These are recommendations to governments and do not bind them. The summit agenda, which is subject to change, lists a session titled “Rewiring The Digital Economy” on November 11.
Sources
- B20 USA Leaders’ Statement, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- WTO: E-commerce briefing note, MC14
- WTO: General Council, October 5–6, 2026
- WTO: General Council, May 2026
- USTR: Press release on the WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference, March 30, 2026
- U.S. Chamber: B20 USA Summit agenda
- U.S. Chamber: B20 Summit 2026
- U.S. Chamber: Innovation Task Force
- G20 Miami 2026
