Russia Joins Information Technology Agreement as 78^th Member

The Russian Federation becomes the 78th member of the Information Technology Agreement (ITA). The Committee of Participants in the Expansion of Trade in Information Technology Products, on 13 September 2013, confirmed that the Russian Federation has joined the WTO plurilateral agreement that aims to liberalize trade in this important and growing sector of the global economy.

Russia joined the WTO on 22 August 2012. As part of its accession commitments, it undertook to reduce tariffs on information technology products from 5.4 per cent to zero, and to join the ITA. Its IT exports and imports in 2012 were US$ 0.99 billion and US$ 20.21 billion, respectively.

The ITA participants represent around 97 per cent of world exports in information technology products. The ITA provides for participants to completely eliminate duties on IT products covered by the Agreement. The benefits of this plurilateral agreement are extended to all WTO members.