India
Chooses to Opt Out, May Join Bandwagon after End of Show
Negotiations aimed at expanding the coverage of the WTO’s
Information Technology Agreement - a plurilateral pact aimed at liberalising trade
in information and communication technology products - are expected to be
completed by mid-July.
The 25 members involved in the talks are reportedly
aiming to have a draft final list later this month, in order to then have “more
serious and intensive” negotiations from 24 June onward, sources said after a
27-31 May working week hosted by Japan. A meeting during the week of 15 July
will be geared toward finalising the talks.
Progress streamlining list, though sensitivities remain
The process to update the 1996 Agreement has been
underway for just over a year, after six countries - Canada, Japan, Korea, the
Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, Singapore, and
the US - presented a concept paper calling for increased product coverage and
membership.
The group has now expanded to 25 members out of the
current ITA’s total 49 participants, with the additions of El Salvador,
Guatemala, and Iceland last week. The 27-country EU counts as one participant.
Toward the end of last year, members discussing the expansion presented a
“consolidated list” of over 350 product lines for consideration; since then,
they have been working on whittling this number down to a more focused set.
Though Japan reported progress last week in streamlining
the list further, trade sources say that disagreements remain over the
inclusion of specific items that are sensitive for some members. For instance,
the EU has reportedly argued against including flat-screen displays, according
to Reuters, due to fears that this could induce US and Asian manufacturers to
relocate from their current hubs in Eastern Europe.
Members who have sensitivities were asked at last week’s
meeting to register these without prejudice to the draft final list, sources
said. The topic of customs implementation was also raised during the
discussions.
Though the ITA expansion is a separate process from the
Doha-related preparations for the upcoming WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali,
Indonesia, trade observers say that clinching a definitive agreement in time
for the high-level gathering could help restore some faith in the
organisation’s effectiveness and members’ ability to negotiate constructively.
Reflecting today’s trade
The agreement’s current participants together represent
97 percent of trade in IT products. This tariff-cutting mechanism was the first
to fully liberalise trade within a specific sector following the Uruguay Round
of trade talks
The members negotiating the expansion aim not only to
update the product list - which is nearly two decades old - but also to bring
in new participants to the pact, given that many of the countries who have
become large traders in information technology products since 1996 are
currently not parties to the agreement.
Some current ITA members that represent large information
technology industries have decided to stay out of the expansion process,
however. India and Indonesia, for example, have said that the expansion is
contrary to their national interests and that they therefore will not take part
in the discussions.
Global revenues from the sector have more than doubled
since the agreement was put in place, from US$500 billion in 1997 to US$4
trillion in 2008.