Progress achieved in Geneva in the negotiations on the expansion of the WTO Information Technology Agreement
On 24 July 2015, an understanding on an additional list of products to be covered by the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) was reached in the multilateral negotiations held in Geneva on the expansion of the ITA. This agreement on product coverage is a key step towards the finalisation of the expansion agreement. Finland is looking forward to an early completion of ITA expansion so that industry can start benefitting from new tariff reductions as soon as possible.
”The ITA agreement is significant for Finland,” Lenita Toivakka, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development of Finland points out. During the negotiations, Finland has advocated the broadest possible product coverage, because international trade is increasingly based on various global value chains. ”This agreement will also have a positive impact on the multilateral trade system whose functioning is very important for Finland with its export-driven economy. Finland underlines the importance of a prompt implementation of ITA and also the inclusion of new participants,” Minister Toivakka notes. The agreement reached on ITA expansion is also expected to facilitate ongoing WTO negotiations towards a conclusion of the Doha round.
According to the foreign trade statistics of Finnish Customs, Finland’s exports in the high-technology field amounted to EUR 3.8 billion in 2014. This product group accounted for roughly 7 per cent of Finland’s total exports in 2014, while in the past decade its share at times exceeded 20 per cent.
The expansion covers 201 tariff lines, whose tariffs will be reduced to zero when the expansion enters into force. The annual value of these international trade flows is approximately EUR 1,000 billion, about a quarter of the value of world trade in ICT products. Some of the tariff lines are expected to be subject to transitional periods of 3–5 years. The product coverage comprises e.g. new generation semiconductors, medical devices, video game consoles and various instruments and equipment. For Finland's exports, the most important products covered by the Agreement are static converters and certain instruments and appliances used in medical science.
The Information Technology Agreement concluded in the framework of WTO came into force in 1997, and it currently has 81 participants. The product coverage of the Agreement comprises computers and peripheral devices, telecommunications equipment, semiconductors and semiconductor manufacturing equipment, software and scientific instruments. The rapid technological development in the field has, however, made it necessary to expand the product coverage. Thus negotiations started in May 2012. The 54 WTO members, including the EU and its member states, involved in the ITA expansion negotiations have come to an agreement on the expansion of the product coverage. The Agreement is due to be finalised by the WTO Ministerial Conference to be held in Nairobi in December 2015.
For further information: Ms. Elina Poikonen, Counsellor, tel. 0295 351 992, and Ms. Marja Koskela, Diplomatic Adviser to Minister Toivakka, tel. 040 352 0463