. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  RESTRICTED 
G/IT/W/37 
1 November 2012 
 (12-6044) 
Committee of Participants on the Expansion of Trade in 
Information Technology Products  
 
 
 
DRAFT1 
 
REPORT (2012) OF THE COMMITTEE OF  PARTICIPANTS ON  THE EXPANSION 
OF TRADE IN INFORMAT ION TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS 
  
1. The Committee of Participants on the Expa nsion 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 T echnology Products (G/L/160), in order to carry out 
the provisions of paragraphs 3, 5, 6 and 7 of the Annex to the Declaration. 
2. The Committee has held two formal meetings in 2012:  on 15 May [and 1 November].  
The minutes of these meetings are containe d in documents G/IT/M/55 and [G/IT/M/56].  
Mr. Aaron Fowler (Canada) was electe d Chairman of the Committee for 2012. 
3. The total number of participants to the Minist erial Declaration is 74. The Russian Federation's 
draft ITA schedule together with the Secretariat's ve rification sheet was circulated to Participants for 
their review and approval on 1 August 2012.  On 16 August 2012, the Chairman of the Committee 
transmitted the comments received from delegations to the Russian Federation. [At the Committee 
meeting of 1 November 2012, the Russian Federati on stated that ….]  On 25 September 2012, the 
Secretariat received a communication from the Repub lic of Tajikistan confirming its commitment to 
become an ITA participant upon its accession to the WT O.  On the same day, the Secretariat also 
received Tajikistan's draft ITA schedule and perfo rmed the electronic verification of the schedule 
which showed no discrepancies.  On 26 Septembe r 2012, Tajikistan's draft ITA schedule and the 
verification sheet were distributed to Participants  for their review and approval by 19 October.  
Only one delegation submitted some technical comme nts.  [At the meeting of 1 November 2012, the 
Committee agreed that once any n ecessary technical changes had been incorporated, the revised draft 
ITA schedule would be circulated.  If there were  no further comments forthcoming at that time, 
Tajikistan would become a Participant to the ITA and its ITA schedule would come into effect upon 
the date of Tajikistan's accession to the WTO.]  The Committee's rules of procedure provide for 
observer status in the Committee for WTO Members which 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 intergovernmenta l organizations are considered on a case-by-case 
basis.  The International Trade Centre (ITC) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and 
Development (OECD) have been granted observe r status; and the World Customs Organization 
(WCO) has been granted observer status to m eetings where issues of HS classification and 
HS amendments are included in the agenda. 
                                                      
1 This document will be updated to take into accoun t the discussions at the meeting to be held on 
1 November 2012. G/IT/W/37 
Page 2  
 
  4. The Committee continued its deliberations  on the Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) Work 
Programme in 2012.  With regard  to its work on the EMC/EMI Pilot Project, the Committee took note 
that among the 48
2 participants, [28] have provided surv ey responses and the Committee encouraged 
those that had not provided the information to do so w ithout any further delay.  In considering ways to 
advance and expand its work on NTMs other than  EMC/EMI, the Committee also heard reports and 
updates by participants on their contributions to  work on NTMs, including in other bodies of the 
WTO and informally  
5. On classification divergences, the Committee at the meeting[s] of 15 May [and 1 November] 
2012, further considered the draft decision proposed by the Chair for the endorsement of List I - A items (G/IT/W/34). The Committee also discusse d how to advance its work on classification 
divergences for other items.  
6. At the meeting of 15 May 2012, the Comm ittee agreed to close its discussions on the 
European Union proposal (G/IT/W/28).   
7. The Committee has consistently reviewed the status of implementation, a summary of which 
is provided in document G/IT/1 and its revisions.  The document noted that most participants had 
submitted the formal documentation for rectificat ion and modification of their WTO schedules in 
order to incorporate the commitments arising from the Ministerial Declaration and most had been certified by the Director General. [One par ticipant still had not yet submitted the necessary 
documentation].   
8. As agreed at the Committee meeting on 24 Oc tober 2011, an ITA Symposium was organized 
on 14-15 May 2012 on occasion of the 15
th anniversary of the ITA and with the participation of the 
private sector.  The purpose of the Symposium was to conduct a review of trade liberalization and the 
evolution of global trade in ICT products since 1996, and their impact, including on developing countries; to have an overview of the latest de velopments in the ICT sector (new technology, 
technological innovation, and the growth of glob al supply chains), the socio-economic benefits, 
including as an enabler of sustainable development; and to look towards the future, including 
prospects for, and challenges to, the continued expa nsion of trade in ICT products.  Statements and 
presentations of all speakers are available on the WTO website.   
9. At the meeting of 15 May 2012, as suggested  by some delegations, the review of product 
coverage was included as a regular agenda item of the Committee.  At the meeting[s] of 15 May [and 
1 November] 2012, Participants reported on the bila teral and plurilateral te chnical consultations 
initiated by some delegations on pro duct expansion.  They also agreed to revert on this matter at 
future meetings. 
 
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2 The European Union counts as one.