RESTRICTED  
  
G/IT/W/56  
 
26 September  2023 
(23-6395) Page: 1/3 
Committee of Participants on the Expansion of Trade in 
Information Technology Products    
 
 
DRAFT1 
REPORT (20 23) OF THE COMMITTEE OF PARTICIPANTS ON THE EXPANSION  
OF TRADE IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS  
1.1.  The Committee of Participants on the Expansion of Trade in Information Technology Products, 
hereinafter referred to as "the Committee", was established pursuant to the provisions of the 
Ministerial Declaration on Trade in Information Technology Products ( WT/MIN(96)/16 ), hereinafter 
referred to as "the Ministerial Declaration", and the provisions for the Implementation of the 
Ministerial Declaration on Trade in Information Technology Products ( G/L/160 ), in order to carry out 
the provisions of paragraphs  3, 5, 6, and 7 of the Annex to the Declaration.  
1.2.  The Committee's rules of procedure provide for observer  status to WTO Members that are not 
participants to the Ministerial Declaration, and governments that are observers to the Council for 
Trade in Goods. Requests for observer status by international intergovernmental organizations are 
considered on a case -by-case basis. The International Trade Centre (ITC) and the Organi sation for 
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have been granted observer status, and the World 
Customs Organization (WCO) has been granted observer status to meetings where issues of 
HS classification and HS  amendments are included on the agenda.  
1.3.  The Committee has held two  formal meetings and two [three]  informal meeting s in 202 3. The 
Committee's formal meetings were held on 29 March  and 1 9 October and their minutes are 
contained in do cuments  G/IT/M/7 8 and [G/IT/M/7 9], respectively. The Committee  also held 
two [three]  informal meeting s on 14 July  [and] 18 September  , [and [xx] ] on better functioning of 
the Committee , and to review Timor -Leste's ITA  Schedules , respecti vely. 
1.4.  Taking into account that Mr Hazrul Imran Azahar (Malaysia) (the ITA Committee 's Chairperson 
during  2022-2023) was temporarily unavailable due to a family emergency , Mr LOH Jia Jie 
(Singapore)  was elected interim Chairperson to chair the ITA Committee's  formal meeting on 
29 March  only. On 7 June 2023, through a written procedure, the Committee elected by acclamation 
Mr Don Spedding (Australia)  as Chairperson for the period of 202 3-2024. 
1.5.  As of 19 October , the total number of WTO  Members that are participants to the Ministerial 
Declaration is 8 3 [84]. The Committee has consistently reviewed the status of implementation, a 
summary of which is provided in document  G/IT/1 and its revisions.  
1.6.  At the Com mittee's meeting of 29 March , China and the United Kingdom exchanged views on 
the United Kingdom's ITA  commitments . 
1.7.  Trade concern s over ITA  implementation in Indonesia  and Egypt were raised at the 
Committee's meeting in March [ ,and reiterated at its meeting in October ]. 
1.8.  The Committee continued its deliberations on the Non -Tariff Measures (NTMs) Work 
Programme in 202 3. Regarding its work on the EMC/EMI  Pilot Project, Israel and Viet  Nam submitted 
information regarding their conformity assessment procedures on 18 January  2023 and 
24 May 2023, respectively . The Committee note d that, among  current participants, 46 had provided 
survey responses . The consolidated list of conformity assessment  procedures for EMC/EMI used by 
 
1 This document will be updated to take into account the discussions at the meeting to be held on 
19 October  2023. G/IT/W/56  
 
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  ITA Participants is updated in document  G/IT/W/17/Rev.30 . The Committee encouraged those that 
had not yet done so to provide the information without any further delay.  
1.9.  On classification divergences, with regard to the possible HS2007  classification for the 
remaining 22  "Attach ment B" items, the Secretariat ha d so far  received comments from 
21 delegations, which were compiled in document  G/IT/W/40  and its Addenda and Supplements.  
The Committee encouraged delegations that had not yet provided their comments to do so as soon 
as possible in order to arrive at a common c lassification for these products within the existing 
HS nomenclature.  
1.10.  On product coverage, the Committee took note of the reports and updates from those 
participants that were engaged in the 2015  ITA Expansion ( WT/L/956  and WT/MIN(15)/25 ) and its  
implementation.  
1.11.  In response to a request from the CTG  Chairperson to the Chairpersons of the CTG's 
subsidiary bodies concerning their respective Committee's current and future functioning, 
ITA Participants held dedicated discussions at the ITA Committee's formal meeting held on 
29 March . To facilitate further discussions on possible follow -up, the Secretariat prepared a 
consolidated table containing a list of possible improvements  to the Committee's future functioning , 
contained  in document  JOB/IT/33 , which was circulated on 3  July. Based o n dedicated discussions 
at the Committee's informal meeting of 14 July, a communication from the Chairperson summarizing 
the current status of the Committee's work in this area was circulated in document  JOB/IT/35 , dated 
9 August. In his follow -up communication , circulated in document  JOB/IT/36 , dated 31 August, 
two measures for action were proposed by the Chairperson for the Committee's adoption through 
written procedures, which were approved on this basis on 12 September .2 In this connection, a 
report of the Chairperson of the Committee to the CTG was circulated [and approved by the 
Committee] in document  [G/IT/xx] on xx  October.  
1.12.  Regarding new participants,  on 27  February  2023, the Mission of Timor -Leste sent a 
Note Verbale to the WTO  Director -General, expressing Timor -Leste's intention to join the ITA and 
ITA Expansion  Agreements . At its formal meeting on 29  March, ITA  Participants expressed their 
welcom e to Timor -Leste's participation , and their support  for its efforts to join the ITA and 
ITA Expansion Agreements . Upon the request of Timor -Leste's authorities , the Secretariat organized 
a technical workshop on the ITA Agreements , in Dili , from 12 -16 June, with a view to enhancing 
officials' understanding of the two  agreements and facilitating the preparation of Timor -Leste's draft 
Schedules. On 22 August, the authority officially submitted its ITA and ITA  Expansion Schedules , 
which were subsequently circulated in document s G/IT/32  and G/IT/33 . At the informal meeting 
held on 18  September, Timor -Leste's ITA  Schedule was reviewed. M ost ITA  participants expressed  
their satisfaction with the submissions , with only a few techn ical issues being raised for additional 
clarification. [At the formal meeting of 19  October, the Committee approved Timor -Leste's 
ITA Schedule by consensus .] Timor -Leste's ITA  commitments will be incorporated in to its Goods 
Schedule and form part of its final WTO accession package. Timor -Leste will become a new 
participant to the ITA upon its WTO  accession.  
1.13.  To improve WTO  Members' understanding of the ITA and ITA  Expansion Agreements , the 
Secretariat organized the very first Geneva -based Workshop on ITA and Digital Transformation , 
which ran from 14 to 17 March  2023. 30 government officials from 30  WTO developing Members 
and governments in the process of WTO  accession participated in the workshop. The Secretariat 
reported the event to the Committee at its March  meeting , and ITA  Participants encouraged the 
Secretariat to organize similar activities in the future in order to advocate for the benefits of joining 
the ITA , as well as for ITA  Participants and non -participants to share their respective experience s in 
this area . Also at the Committee's March meeting, the Secretariat made a presentation on recent 
trends in ICT trade, for which ITA Participants expressed their appreciation . 
1.14.  To strengthen its communication with the ICT industry, the Committee engaged i n an informal  
dialogue with a number of IT  company and association representatives on 16  March in Geneva. 
Representatives from Cisco, Applied Materials, Japan Electronics and Information Industries 
Association (JEITA), the Consumer Technology Association ( CES), the Information Technology 
Industry Council (ITIC), Medtronic and the Semiconductor  Industry Association ( SIA) introduced a 
number of products and applications using the latest ICT  technology in various aspects of  business, 
 
2 The formal Committee decision was circulated in document  [G/IT/34].  G/IT/W/56  
 
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  logistics, infrastructure and medical care , and also shared the perspectives of their specific 
companies regarding the benefits of the ITA.  
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