UPDATES ON
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
AGREEMENT (ITA) EXPANSION
Noor Wahida Noordin
Ministry of International Trade & Industry Malaysia
20 June 2013
wahida@miti.gov.my
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OUTLINE
1. BACKGROUND ON ITA EXPANSION
2. NEED FOR ITA EXPANSION
3. CURRENT STATE OF PLAY
4. MALAYSIA’S PARTICIPATION
5. SUMMARY
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BACKGROUND OF ITA EXPANSION
The process was initiated by 6 ITA participants (Japan,
US, EU, Korea, Chinese Taipei, Costa Rica)
Technical Group on ITA expansion formed.
First Technical Group meeting held on 1 June
2012 at Japanese Mission in Geneva
11 rounds of Technical Group meetings have
been held. Last one being week of 27 May
2013
The meetings aim at developing a
consolidated working list for the ITA product
expansion
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BACKGROUND OF ITA EXPANSION
As per the 1996 ITA, concessions will be
extended to all WTO members on MFN
basis.
TARGET
1st:
Complete negotiations on
Consolidated List Before the
WTO Summer break in July (2
more meetings)
2nd:
Be one of the deliverables at the
WTO 9th Ministerial Conference in
Bali, which will be held on 3-6
December 2013.
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NEED FOR ITA EXPANSION
Technology advancement lead to sophisticated products
Convergence of E&E towards ICT
Limited scope of current ITA e.g. does not cover
multifunction products
Need for a continuous update since the list is unchanged
since 1996
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CURRENT STATE OF PLAY
25 economies (counting the EU as 1) participating in
the Technical Meeting for ITA expansion.
Australia, Canada, China, Chinese Taipei,
Costa Rica, Croatia, El-Salvador, EU,
Guatemala, Hong Kong, Iceland, Israel,
Japan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Montenegro,
New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Republic
of Korea (ROK), Singapore, Switzerland,
Thailand, Turkey and USA.
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CURRENT STATE OF PLAY Cont...
Inclusion of raw material
products such as chemical
IT relatedness of some
products proposed
Products cover multiple
sectors
Implementation by customs
of ex-out products.
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CURRENT STATE OF PLAY Cont..
Products
capable of
processing
digital
signals
EXAMPLES OF PRODUCTS
COVERED IN THE
CURRENT CONSOLIDATED
LIST OF ITA 2
Related
component
and parts
ITA 2
Products
receiving
digital
signals
ICT
manufacturing
equipment
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CURRENT STATE OF PLAY Cont..
LAST MEETING, MEMBERS AGREED
•Tentatively to apply the following criteria (proposed by EU) for filtering
proposals under Attachment A and B to focus discussions on the non binding
draft final list
• Total number of countries supporting a particular
tariff line accounts for at least 50% of world trade
OR
• Has at least 8 members supporting
• Members to register sensitivities without prejudice on the draft final list
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CURRENT STATE OF PLAY cont..
CONSOLIDATED LIST NOW COMPRISE OF:
Attachment A
Defines products by HS
code (tariff heading) at
6-digit code
Currently comprise of
256 tariff lines
Attachment B
Defines products by description
without specifying the HS code
Currently comprise of 6 product
descriptions
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CURRENT STATE OF PLAY Cont..
Filtered
Consolidated
List
Sensitivities
of Members
Among areas of
discussion for
the next meeting
(Week of 24
June 2013)
Discussions are
expected to be
more
intensive
and technical in
nature
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MALAYSIA’S PARTICIPATION
• Participating actively in the Technical Group
meetings held in Geneva, Switzerland.
• Have held numerous consultations with the
industry and relevant Government Agencies in
Malaysia
• Is currently supporting:
 167 out of the 256 tariff lines under
Attachment A; and
 2 out of 6 product descriptions under
Attachment B
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SUMMARY
• The ITA expansion can be one of the potential
non-DDA deliverable for the 9th Ministerial
Conference in Bali.
• Intensive technical discussions are still on-going
to finalise the consolidated list for negotiations.
• Members are seeking other ITA Members to
actively participate in the technical discussions
and non-ITA WTO Members to consider joining
the ITA.
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THANK YOU
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