. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/L/1014 
14 November 2012 
 (12-6275) 
  
  
 
 
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 contained 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 75. The Russian Federation's 
draft ITA schedule together with the Secretariat's veri fication sheet, were 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 work was on-going to address 
comments received.  Several delegations urged Russi a to complete its procedures as soon as possible 
in order to become a full Participant to the ITA at an early date.  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, a fax relating to 
these changes will be circulated to  Participants giving one week for comments.  Tajikistan would 
become a full 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 Tr ade in Goods.  Requests for observer status by 
international intergovernmental organizations  are considered on a case-by-case basis.  
The International Trade Centre (ITC) and th e 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 meet ings where issues of HS classification and HS 
amendments are included in the agenda. 
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 G/L/1014 
Page 2  
 
  that among the 48
1 participants, 28 have provided survey  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 Comm ittee, at the meetings of 15 May and 
1 November 2012, further considered the draft decisi on proposed by the Chair for the endorsement of 
List I-A items (G/IT/W/34).  The Committee also di scussed 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 for a review of the Information Technology Agreement (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 15th 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 meetings of 15 May and 
1 November 2012, Participants reported on the bi lateral and plurilateral technical consultations 
initiated by some delegations on pro duct expansion.  They also agreed to revert on this matter at 
future meetings. 
 
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1 The European Union counts as one.