WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  RESTRICTED 
G/IT/M/55  
19 October 2012 
 (12-5618) 
Committee of Participants on the Expansion of Trade in 
Information Technology Products  
 
 
 
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF 15 MAY 2012 
 
Chairman:  Mr Zahari Md Ali (Malaysia) 
 
Introduction .................................................................................................................. .......................... 1 
1.  The IT Symposium .............................................................................................................. ...... 1 
2.  Review of the Status of Implementation of the Ministerial Declaration on Trade 
in Information Technology Pr oducts (G/IT/1/Rev.46) .......................................................... 6  
3.  Review of Product Coverage ....................................................................................................  6 
4.  Proposal from the European Communities Concerning the Review of the 
Information Technology Agreement (I TA) (G/IT/W/28 and JOB/IT/5)............................ 11  
5.  EMC/EMI Pilot Project - Draft List of the Types of Conformity Assessment 
Procedures for EMC/EMI used by ITA Participants (G/IT/W/17/Rev.7) ......................... 12  
6.  Non-tariff Measures Work Programme (G/IT/19, G/IT/SPEC/Q4/19/Rev.2 and 
G/IT/SPEC/Q2/11/Rev.1) ....................................................................................................... 13 
7.  Divergences in Classifying In formation Technology Products 
(G/IT/14/Rev.1/Add.1, G/IT/W/6/Rev.3, G/IT/W/33 and G/IT/W/34) ............................... 14  
8.  New Participants .............................................................................................................. ....... 15 
9.  Election of Chairperson ....................................................................................................... ... 16 
10.  Other Busi ness ................................................................................................................ ......... 16 
-  Date of the next meeting  .......................................................................................................... 16  
 
_______________ 
 
Introduction 
 The Committee adopted the proposed agenda for the meeting which was circulated in 
WTO/AIR/3936 dated 2 May 2012.  An annotated ag enda for the meeting was also contained in 
document JOB/IT/6 dated 3 May 2012.  The Chairman stated that he would take up the "date of the next meeting" under Other Business.    
1. The IT Symposium 
1.1 The Chairman reported on the IT Symposiu m which had just been organized on the occasion 
of the 15th anniversary of the ITA.  He expressed his a ppreciation to the speakers and panellists for 
their valuable contribution to the Symposium, a nd expressed his gratitude to  those who had attended 
the Symposium and made it a success.  
1.2 The Chairman stated that the ITA Committee al ways wanted to keep updating Participants on 
the latest developments in the ICT industry.  H earing and learning from speakers and panellists as 
well as the audience on how global trade in IT pr oducts could be expande d and had benefitted from G/IT/M/55 
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  the ITA, he thought that such a Symposium was ab solutely necessary and had helped Participants to 
have a better understanding of the rapid changes in the IT sector.  He was certain that this would 
further deepen Participants' thinking and st imulate the Committee work for the future. 
1.3 The Chairman summarized some of th e major themes and ideas emanating from the 
Symposium.  He said that the Symposium had be en very effective in meeting its purpose, which 
aimed at conducting a review of trade liberaliza tion and evolution of globa l trade in ICT products 
since 1996, and their impact on developing countries; having an overview of th e latest developments 
in ICT sector (new technology, technological innovation, and the global supply chain), the socio-economic benefits, and as an enabler of su stainable development; and looking towards the 
future, the prospects for, and challenges to, a further expansion of trade in ICT products.  
1.4 He also summarized the following main points of discussion.  The ITA was a "product of its 
time" and a unique instrument in the WTO.  It wa s a clear success story but today, there was a need 
for an update.  The country-specific cases showed that  the ITA had helped the development of the IT 
sector in those countries and their development through increased investment, innovation, employment and development of high-quality services.   While the IT sector continued to be a 
significant and growing share of the investment in developed countries, IT spending and investment 
were increasing most rapidly in emerging economies.  ITA facilitated the diffusion of technology and spurred innovation.  However, there was a need fo r ITA Participants to formulate other aspects of 
their national policy with a view to benefiting from the Agreement.  The important role of developing 
countries in the IT sector was growing not only as pr oducers but also as consumers.  Many developing 
countries, including LDCs benefited from the app lication of ICT-enabled industries and services, 
especially their SMEs.  Experiences from some of the Members also showed how small economies, 
participating in the ITA could benefit from the globa lisation in the ICT sector.  There was a need to 
expand the ITA membership as some regions were  not well represented.  The ITA had successfully 
eliminated tariffs. Trends and de velopment of technological converg ence and globalisation in the ICT 
sector were not foreseen at the time the ITA had b een negotiated.  There were repeated calls for 
expansion of the ITA product covera ge and keeping the ITA updated w ith technological development.  
There also was a need to address NTBs effectively.   On the question of technological development, 
the important relations between innovation and conv ergence were emphasised.  Amendments to the 
Harmonised System (HS) code had a great impact on ITA products. With the introduction of new HS 
codes, both WTO Members' tariff schedules and ITA product lists needed to be updated.  However, 
the transposition process was complicated.  He felt a ll of these were important for the work of the 
Committee, and raised the obvious question of what c ould or should be the role of this trade policy 
body in addressing some of these important issues.  He  also noted that there were a number of more 
specific questions raised during each of the panel sessions which would also need further examination 
by the Committee. 
1.5 The representative of India  thanked the Chairman for his report on the IT Symposium and 
requested that his country's name be removed from the sentence which stated that some countries had 
benefited from the ITA in terms of increasi ng employment, IT spending and investment. 
1.6 The representative of Thailand expressed her appreciation to the Chairman and the Secretariat 
for the hard work and effort that they had devot ed to the Symposium in making it a very successful 
event. She stated that the discussions that th e Participants had conducted during the Symposium 
showed that the ITA had been one of the most succes sful trade agreements in the WTO by eliminating 
tariffs for ICT related products.  The ITA had contri buted to not only the expansion of trade in this 
sector but its benefits were overwhelming a nd the obvious economic gains had far reaching 
implications in the development of the livelihood of the people around the world.  However, it was 
also apparent that during the past fifteen years,  the ITA had not been able to keep up with the 
technological innovation of this rapidly changing sector .  She said that in this regard, her country 
supported all those Participants who had expressed  their willingness to embark on the process of  G/IT/M/55 
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  making the ITA more comprehensive and more releva nt to the current business reality.  Her country 
had to take into consideration th e demands and expectations of the ICT industries for a review of the 
Agreement with the goal of improving trade conditio ns for ICT products.  Her delegation was indeed 
committed to achieving a meaningful outcome on the ITA.  They were prepared to work 
constructively with other Particip ants and welcomed every opportunity for Participants to start 
deliberating intensely on the issue in the coming mont hs.  Her delegation believe d that this meeting to 
advance trade liberalization in ICT products was a successful venture which would benefit all ITA 
Participants.  She sincerely looked forward to seei ng the outcome of Participants' co-operation which 
would further develop technology, increase economic growth and improve social welfare in their regions.  She felt what was more important wa s the expansion of the ITA which would truly 
emphasise the pivotal role of the multilateral trading system in world trade. 
1.7 The representative of Costa Rica thanked the Ch airman for his report and the Secretariat for 
organizing a very successful Symposium.  He reca lled the benefits that the ITA had brought to 
Participants as they were presented in the Symposiu m.  He emphasized the fact that the ITA had been 
a win-win experience as both developed and de veloping countries were benefiting from it.  
His country's experience confirmed that.  He said that his country had since the beginning supported 
the ITA negotiations despite the fact that at the time  more than half of its total exports were made up 
of agricultural products.  His country's decision to develop an IT sector combined with consistent 
policies to open up its trade had attracted more foreign direct investment.  This decision had 
considerably transformed his country and improve d the level of sophistication of its exports.  
This meant that Costa Rica had become one of th e leading Latin American countries whose industrial 
exports were made up of high tec hnology products.  Costa Rica was al so one of the leading countries 
in the world in this respect.  In 1996, ITA produc ts accounted for 5 per cent of Costa Rica's total 
industrial exports; in 2011, that figure rose to about  a third.  Furthermore, it was a very sensitive 
ingredient in contributing to making about 40 per cent  of Costa Rica's total exports being integrated 
into the global supply chain.  His country woul d welcome any further initiatives to expand benefits 
derived from the boosting of high technology exports  as they believed that these made a significant 
contribution to both economic growth  and development.  To a very great extent, as a result of the 
multiplying effect, the ITA had increased productivity and achieved efficiency in particular when new 
technology was used in daily life and work which, in his view, had helped boost his country's overall 
economy. 
1.8  The representative of Japan thanked  the Chairman for his report on the Symposium.  She also 
thanked the Secretariat and the speakers for presenti ng such interesting and persuasive arguments on 
the need for an ITA expansion.  The recent data presented by the speakers all showed the success of 
the current ITA and there was an ur gent need for an ITA expansion to boost global trade as well as the 
global economy.  She thought it was the role of th e ITA Committee, to start the discussion on the ITA 
expansion.  She further thanked the Chairman and th e Secretariat for the excellent organization of the 
Symposium. 
1.9 The representative of Colombia, speaking for  the first time as a Participant in the Committee, 
thanked the Secretariat for all th e support provided to his delegation during the process of his country 
joining the ITA in March.  He also thanked other Participants for the confidence they demonstrated 
throughout the process in helping Colombia became a full partner to the Agreement.  He further 
thanked the Chairman for his services and for the work  that the Secretariat a nd others had put into 
organizing the Symposium as it had been extremely enlightening.  His delegation had taken careful 
note of the benefits achieved by the ITA and was very interested to hear the experience of many 
countries, in particular in respect of other devel oping countries.  He said that his delegation hoped to 
use some of the lessons learnt.  Colombia also car efully noted initiatives to expand the Agreement and 
hoped to play a very active role. G/IT/M/55 
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  1.10 The representative of the United States  thanked the Secretariat and the Chairman for putting 
together an excellent program for the Symposium.  He also thanked all the delegations that organised 
speakers for the event. He further thanked the Se cretariat for compiling an excellent report which 
would be of great use to all Participants. 
1.11  The representative of Canada joined others in thanking the Chairman, the Secretariat, and the 
presenters and panellists for providi ng very constructive insight into the international ICT market, its 
current context and its future poten tial in relation to the ITA over the course of the Symposium.  In his 
view, it was a very informative Symposium and very we ll organised.  It was clear to Canada that there 
was a compelling commercial and economic case to be made for ITA Participants to take a serious look at the current product coverage of the Agreement with a view to bringing it up to date in a way 
that accounted for the innovative developments made in the sector over the course of the past 15 
years.  He thought that the Participants needed to recognise that it was a sector that would continue to 
evolve dynamically in the future.  His delegation fu lly agreed that Participants should engage in a 
process to review product coverage with a view to its early conclusion in order to facilitate growth 
and trade in this important industry. 
1.12 The representative of the European Union jo ined others in thanki ng the Chairman and the 
Secretariat for their very impressive performances.  He also thanked all other Participants especially 
those that had provided speakers to the Symposium.   He stated that several speakers had confirmed 
that the work conducted in the Committee under the IT A could benefit not only the global multilateral 
trading system but also the economy.  The Sym posium underscored the need for an update, review 
and expansion of the ITA to make the Agreement even  more relevant.  He said that the EU, together 
with the other Participants, would contribute  very willingly to the expansion process. 
1.13 The representative of Korea thanked the Ch airman for his concise report on the Symposium 
and the Secretariat for the excellent organization of  the Symposium.  He stated that the Symposium 
had provided them with a lot of insi de information, in particular that  the dramatic evolution in the ICT 
sector was mostly due to technological development a nd innovation.  In his view, this had increased 
uncertainties regarding the classification of a lot of  electronic goods and consequently the demand for 
an ITA expansion.  The outcome of the Sympos ium indicated that indeed the ITA represented a 
remarkable and successful integration of deve loping and emerging economies into the world 
economy.   However, his delegation also took note that the current ITA was at risk of losing its 
relevance.  His delegation strongly supported the ne gotiations within the context of the Committee to 
expand both the product covera ge and membership of the ITA.  He hoped that the negotiations would 
be completed as quickly as possible. 
1.14 The representative of Chinese Taipei  extended his appreciation to the Chairman and the 
Secretariat for organizing the Symposium.  He also  thanked other delegations  who had organised the 
speakers or panellists for the Symposium.  In hi s delegation's view, the Symposium was very timely 
and important for the Participants to review th e current global ICT industry development and move 
ahead into the future.  He sai d that the Symposium gave them the opportunity to reflect on 
ITA product coverage, technological developments a nd to meet expectations of their industry.  
His delegation supported the view that an ITA expans ion negotiation should be carried to review the 
product coverage. 
1.15 The representative of Malaysia  joined others in thanking the Ch airman and the Secretariat for 
organizing the ITA Symposium.  She appreciated the efforts expended in putting together a solid 
programme with speakers and panellis ts from various fronts who were ab le to share views of industry, 
academia and private sector.  She said that the co nvening of the Symposium was timely given the 
evolution of global trade in ICT products.  Tec hnology had advanced a great deal and many new 
products had evolved.  She stated that in the case of Malaysia, the ITA had played a crucial role in the 
transformation of the Malaysian ICT sector.  As a country that was a major exporter of ICT products,  G/IT/M/55 
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  Malaysia had gained from liberalization under the IT A.  Malaysia saw the outcome of the Symposium 
as a step in the right direction, a step towards having a constructive discussion in the coming months 
on exploring an expansion of the Agreement taki ng into account the advancement of technology.  
They believed that it was time for Participants to have this conversation in the multilateral context and 
Malaysia certainly looked forward to working closel y with all Participants in taking this initiative 
forward. 
1.16 The representative of the Philippines  joined all other delegations who had expressed their 
gratitude for the organization of the Symposium.  She said that on a personal basis, she at least had 
learnt a lot from the industry and thought that this  was what policy makers should bear in mind.  She 
thanked the Secretariat for the very informative report that it had distributed on the growth of the ITA 
industry, and all the presenters.  On the questi on of follow-up, she assured the Committee that the 
Philippines would remain constructively engaged in  any decision that would be made concerning 
follow-up work. 
1.17 The representative of Israel  joined others in praising all those who were involved in the 
organization of such a successful Symposium.  It was enlightening, knowledgeable and informative to 
learn about the dealings of the IT.  In terms of future work, he supported discussions to review and 
expand the ITA coverage. 
1.18 The representative of Singapore  added her thanks to the Chairman, the Secretariat and 
Participants for putting together a successful ITA Symposium.  She said that Singapore felt that the 
Symposium had revealed a keen inter est in the work of  the Committee.  Singapore felt that the points 
made in the presentations were very informative a nd relevant to the Committee's work.  There was 
value in sharing directly from experts and h earing evidence from companies on how economies 
especially those of developing countries had benef ited tremendously from the ICT industry and would 
continue to do so.  More importantly, it was intere sting to hear how industry had also contributed to 
valuable social gains including improving the quality of lives in various communities.  It was good to know that the work of the ITA Committee had such  significance.  Singapore believed that it was 
important to ensure that the Participants would c ontinue to work towards meaningful outcomes and to 
contribute to economies and communities.  In this  regard, she added Singapore's support to the 
discussions on the improvement and expansion of the ITA. 
1.19 The representative of Hong Kong, China th anked the Chairman and the Secretariat for 
organising an excellent Symposium.  They had heard very clearly from industry that the ITA would 
need to be strengthened so that the industry c ould further advance the information communication 
technology, and that there would be new products on the markets, including tariff classification 
changes.  She noted that it was the right time for Participants to review the ITA.  Her delegation 
looked forward to working constructively with all ITA Participants to strengthen the ITA which had 
played a very important role in enhancing market  access for IT products since its implementation and 
had resulted in the tremendous expansio n of world trade in IT products. 
1.20 The representative of Peru  congratulated the Chairman and th e Secretariat for the successful 
conclusion of the Symposium.  He welcomed Colomb ia as a new Participant to the Agreement.  He 
pointed out that the analysis carried out during the Symposium was from the industry or user stand point. For IT products, on the supply side, the competitiveness of a company very much depended on whether or not it was using global supply chains. On the user side, Peru took note that there were multiple benefits of IT for long-term growth and de velopment.  Peru had placed a high hope for those 
communities that lived in the remo te areas to use IT products to overcome geographical barriers and 
enable them to become part of regional trade. 
1.21 The representative of Indonesia  congratulated the Chairman and the Secretariat for making 
the Symposium a successful one.  He said that the in-depth discussions among all stakeholders during G/IT/M/55 
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  the Symposium shed light on the importance of trad e in information and communication products in 
spreading economic growth and development for ITA Participants.  He  stated that while 
acknowledging the success story of the implementation of  the ITA, it should be kept in mind that the 
benefits of the ITA had not been distributed e qually among the Participants, as was mentioned by 
some speakers.  Statistics clearly showed that some  Participants had been significantly constrained 
from getting benefits from the ITA including Indonesia.  An analysis of the impact of the IT on 
Indonesia's economy was currently being carried out by the capital.  Indonesia was of the view that as 
a follow up of the Symposium, and as mandated by  the Agreement, the Committee needed to make 
periodic reviews of the Agreement.  He further said that his delegation profoundly hoped that if there 
would be a review, it should be balanced and fu lly take into account sensitive constraints of 
Participants.  
1.22 The representative of Kenya  thanked the Secretariat for organizing a very successful and 
useful 15th Anniversary Symposium.  He thanked, in particular, the Secretariat for identifying a 
private sector participant from Kenya to make a pres entation during the Symposium.  He said that it 
was very useful to see how the sector had evolved ove r the years for a lot of developing countries in 
Africa and for his country, Kenya.  A lot of unilate ral liberalization of the ICT products had already 
been undertaken.  The Symposium was indeed very enlightening, at least for his delegation, and 
would help it make assessments of the sector and perh aps of the future benefits of joining the ITA.   
1.23 The Committee took note of the statements. 
2. Review of the Status of Implementation of the Ministerial Declaration on Trade in 
Information Technology Products (G/IT/1/Rev.46) 
2.1 The Chairman stated that an overview of th e implementation of the Ministerial Declaration on 
Trade in Information Technology Products was contained in document G/IT/1/Rev.46.  
This document updated the Par ticipants on issues pertaining to the WTO procedures for 
implementation.  He pointed out that as indicated in the document, the completion of domestic legal 
procedural requirements for El Salvador was still pending.  He informed the Committee that he had 
written a letter to the delegation of Morocco on 14 N ovember 2011.  However, thus far, he had not yet 
received a response.  He would keep the Participan ts informed of any new developments in this 
regard.  With regard to the recent  participation by Colombia, he invited the delegation of Colombia to 
provide some updates.  
2.2 The representative of Colombia  informed the Committee that following his country joining 
the ITA on 27 March 2012, his authorities had submitted Colombia's final ITA schedule of 
commitments which was circulated on 8 May as document G/MA/TAR/RS/295 under the procedures 
for formal rectification and modification of sche dules, as required by the Decision of 26 March 1980 
on Procedures for Modification and Rectifi cation of Schedules of Tariff Concessions.  
2.3 The Committee took note of the statements made.  
3. Review of Product Coverage 
3.1 The Chairman recalled that in Paragraph 3 of the Annex to the Information Technology 
Agreement, Participants to the ITA shall meet peri odically "to review the product coverage specified 
in the Attachments, with a view to agreeing, by consensus, whether in th e light of technological 
developments, experience in applying the tariff conc essions, or changes to the HS nomenclature, the 
Attachments should be modified to incorporate add itional products".  He said that the review of 
product coverage had always been an agenda item of the Committee.  Since March 2000, as there was 
less discussion on the review of product coverage , it was put as an agenda item under Other Business 
with a standard statement by the Chairman indicati ng that the issue of the review of product coverage  G/IT/M/55 
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  continued to be under consultation, and encouraging de legations to continue their efforts.  He stated 
that in his recent consultations with some delega tions, it was suggested that this item be listed as a 
regular agenda item and some delegations wished to report to the Committee on their bilateral and 
plurilateral consultations on the re view of product coverage. He inv ited delegations to give their 
reports or statements on this matter.  
3.2 The representative of the United States stated that at the Symposium, many Participants had 
underscored that the ITA had been an incredibly  successful Agreement as it had increased trade and 
investment, economic growth, development, productiv ity and access to technology.  He pointed out 
that the potential benefits of an ITA expansion were substantial and over the past months many 
stakeholders had called for addi ng ICT products including new, more  advanced goods to the ITA as 
was envisioned in the 1996 Ministerial Declaration.  Last year, APEC leaders had also recognised the 
importance of an ITA expansion and agreed to pl ay a leadership role to advance ITA expansion 
negotiations at the WTO.  Some Participants we re carrying out domestic consultations on how to 
organize this work.  His delegation had worked t ogether with a number of other ITA Participants 
contributing to those conversations with a concep t paper G/ITA/W/36.  It provided some thoughts on 
how to frame the basic questions.  It laid out so me ideas on the types of categories of products that 
Members could consider when preparing product list s for consultation with other Participants.  It 
established that tariffs and NTBs were delinked but that the Committ ee should take steps to advance 
important work under the NTM work programme.  His delegation welcomed Malaysia and Costa Rica 
as new co-sponsors to this paper.  He stated th at the co-sponsors looked forward to continuing and 
broadening discussions with all ITA Partic ipants to further elaborate these ideas. 
3.3 The representative of the European Union reca lled that the benefits brought by the ITA had 
been sufficiently underlined during the Symposium.  He stated that an expanded and updated ITA 
should therefore contribute to even greater benefits  in terms of:  competitiveness of the industry and 
the economy as a whole; technological developmen t; accessibility to new technologies; and ultimately 
economic growth.  His dele gation had consistently been in favour  of an expansion of the ITA product 
coverage, and this was one of the key pillars of  its communication in September 2008, also proposing 
working towards the expansion of the Participants  in the ITA, the introduction of a mechanism to 
regularly update the product coverage and address po ssible classification issues, and to deal with NTB 
issues in the IT sector.  The EU, therefore, we lcomed and endorsed th e "concept paper for the 
expansion of the ITA" (G/IT/W/36).  Regarding para graph 8 of the concept paper, he said that his 
delegation would like to develop and indicate more precisely what this work on NTBs would consist 
of, and thus, in that context and as part of that pr ocess, they considered that ITA participants could 
explore non-binding approaches, based on principl es, good regulatory practices and transparency as 
regarded technical regulations, product require ments and conformity assessment procedures. He 
further said that on product coverage expansion, his delegation would be c ontributing positively and 
actively with a view to reaching a successful out come as speedily as possible.  He hoped for a 
comprehensive approach that would maintain an d increase the relevance of  the ITA for business and 
trade, and which would contribute to their competitiv eness.  He stated that as underlined by several 
presentations during the Symposium, his delegation w ould also display the benefits of ITA to non-
ITA countries and of its expansion to current ITA members to promote the widest possible participation.  He said that they would also c ontribute with ideas to develop the work programme on 
NTBs and to further the consultations on NTBs under paragraph 3 of the ITA, and in particular to 
move towards the objective of rendering regulations  as trade-friendly as possible and to minimise the 
risk of new NTBs, for which greater transparency coul d play a key role.  He indicated that they would 
like to make a point on process.  In addition to noting the interest of many ITA Participants to step up 
work under paragraph 3 of the ITA to achieve results  within the shortest possible period of time, the 
EU also attached great importance to providing a more  structured process. In this respect, he felt that 
the ITA Committee could play a ro le to ensure transparency vis-à-vis  the whole ITA membership and 
the Committee could periodically ta ke stock of progress accomplished.  The Committee could also 
play a role for the continuation and development of  the work programme on NTBs.  He said that his G/IT/M/55 
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  delegation was ready to start work quickly, intensiv ely, with pragmatism also in an inclusive manner 
in order to make the upcoming review a success. 
3.4 The representative of Japan stated that as her delegation had heard in the Symposium and at 
the meeting due to the very success of the ITA in promoting global trade and economic development 
as well as the further development of technology in the past fifteen years, there was a very high 
expectation from the global business and broader co mmunity of the ICT sector for the Committee to 
start discussion on the ITA expansion.  She further st ated that as shown by industry speakers the IT 
industry had developed a global suppl y chain and their expectation for further trade liberalization in 
this sector was quite high.  She felt that ITA Partic ipants should meet that expectation speedily.  Her 
delegation wanted to express its support to start di scussions on ITA expansion among the Participants.  
Her delegation, together with ot hers, had submitted G/IT/W/36 calling for the start of the discussion 
on such an expansion.  She hoped that the paper wo uld become the starting point for the Participants 
to deepen their engagement on ITA expansion. 
3.5 The representative of Canada stated that his delegation wanted the concept paper, which 
Canada had co-sponsored, to provid e more detailed views on the merits  of advancing with the product 
coverage expansion.  He felt that it would set timely and appropriate work for the Committee to 
undertake.  As had been clearly heard from the industry over the course of the Symposium, that while they valued the ITA and considered it to be a very  important Agreement, th eir industry had evolved. 
They asked the Committee to review the Agreemen t to ensure that it both acknowledged those 
changes that had taken place over the course of the past 15 years and to move in a direction that 
reflected their needs. Canada was fully ready to enga ge in a discussion to ensure that this Agreement 
would continue to be commercially meaningful. 
3.6 The representative of El Salvador (also, on be half of the delegations of Guatemala, Honduras, 
Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic) expressed a ppreciation for the reports received and the 
contributions referred to under this agenda item.   He understood that the document (G/IT/W/36) was 
being submitted in the context of the review of the ITA as provided for in paragraph 3 of the Annex to 
the Ministerial Declaration on Trade in Informa tion Technology Products.  He noted that although 
consultations on the review of the Agreement we re encouraged since 2008, the discussion on this 
matter continued. The reason being that there was la ck of specific information on the scope of such a 
review including which products Pa rticipants would want to add to the present coverage of the 
Agreement.  The submissions discussed today gave a fa irly general idea of some of the products that 
Participants might want to include in a review of the Agreement, but did not provide sufficient clarity 
on specific products.  This obviously hindered the star t of internal consultations with authorities and 
the sectors concerned.  He understood that various  Participants had recently favoured intensifying 
discussions on the review of the Agreement.  While recognizing the existence of the mandate 
concerning this review, it was not possible to pr ejudge the results of such a review, or affirm 
beforehand that as a result of this process the list of  products in the sectors mentioned in some of the 
recent documents would be expanded.  Their delega tions were open to contin ue the discussions on the 
issue, which were of interest to various Particip ants on the basis of specific contributions stating 
which products Participants would wish to incl ude in a review of the Agreement within the 
framework of the Committee.  He emphasised that, firstly, unlike other Participants, they were not 
significant producers of information technology pr oducts and, secondly, they were still trying to 
benefit from the current Agreement.  They felt that  it was important for them to foresee a balanced 
outcome that could result from the review in question.  The foregoing was without prejudice to the 
fact that their delegations were still having some  doubts about the scope and content in relation to 
both the expansion of the product range and the i ssue of NTBs.  Lastly, their basic premise for 
accepting an outcome on the review of the Agreemen t within the framework of this Committee would 
be that it should not undermine the flexibilities provi ded for some developing Participants in the WTO 
market access negotiations and that the results of their tariff reductions arising from a review of the 
ITA should be taken into account when resuming those negotiations.   G/IT/M/55 
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  3.7 The representative of Chinese Taipei stated that his delegation also contributed to the concept 
paper (G/IT/W/36), providing some basic ideas on expanding the ITA.  Like other co-sponsors, his 
delegation looked forward to continuing discussions with all ITA Participants to further elaborate 
those ideas. 
3.8 The representative of Norway  expressed Norway's strong support for a revision of the ITA.  
She believed that the concept paper presented by the United States, Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei, 
Canada and Singapore proposed a good way forward.   The paper could serve as a good basis for 
further discussions.  She hoped that all Members could agree on a way forward which would then 
enable the Participants to start a revi sion of the Agreement as soon as possible. 
3.9 The representative of Switzerland thanked the eight  Participants for tabling the concept paper.  
It provided a good basis for continuous discussions  and the three elements were important, 
i.e. product expansion, enlargement of the member ship, and the part on NTBs.  As NTBs would be 
what remained when tariffs were eliminated; he r delegation agreed with the EU that the ITA 
Committee could play an important role.  In her vi ew, each of the 74 Particip ants would not have the 
capacity to follow the discussions on NTBs individu ally and so, the ITA Committee could be a good 
forum to enforce and provide resources and inform ation to all Participants.  Her delegation also 
looked forward to more information on the elements  that would be put on the table by the EU, and 
was very supportive of the revision of the ITA. 
3.10 The representative of Australia stated that th e Symposium served to reaffirm their view that 
the expansion of the ITA was well overdue.  By working on the ITA and seek ing to expand product 
coverage, it would be a good signal to WTO Members that ITA Participants were serious about their 
efforts to ensure that the multilateral trading sy stem would be responding to the desire of the 
international trading environment.  He was encour aged by the timing of the discussions which were 
positive, reflecting possible useful discussions ove r recent months to lay the ground work for an 
ITA expansion.  His delegation wanted to move fo rward the work under paragraph 3 of the Annex to 
the ITA in an inclusive and open manner.  His delegation acknowledged and appreciated the efforts 
that were made by the co-sponsors of the concept paper and supported the ra tionale for expanding the 
ITA.  In his view, the paper provided a useful framework to widen discussions and increase support 
for the ideas that were outlined in the paper.  His delegation was w illing to work with the co-sponsors 
in this regard.  From their perspective of moving things forward, the discu ssion needed to address all 
issues in a realistic manner that included product cove rage, the question of new Participants and there 
was a need to make serious efforts in identifying  what could be done on NTBs.  On that basis if 
Participants could seek ways of moving forward in a realistic manner, it would be possible to find a 
consensus, and his delegation certainly wanted to contribute to the proce ss and support the 
intensification of work.  The ITA Committee had a ve ry important role to play and it would need to 
give further thought on how to structure the work ahead to ensure that th e Committee would make as 
much progress as possible over the next few months before the summer break.  He reaffirmed that his 
delegation stood ready to work cons tructively with all Participants to move this expansion process 
forward. 
3.11 The representative of India thanked the US delegation and other co-sponsors for the concept 
paper.  He supported the statement made by El Salvador also on behalf of others (Guatemala, 
Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic) on th e fact that the Committee would need to take 
into account the flexibilities required by many developi ng countries in the expansion of IT products.  
He asked the United States and other co-sponsors a question on the concept paper regarding the issue 
of the critical mass.  He wondered whether there we re any specific numbers in terms of the critical 
mass for product expansion as proposed by the co -sponsors.  His second question concerned the 
mandate that the co-sponsors quoted, i.e., paragraph 3 of the Annex to the Ministerial Decision.  
He asked whether there was reference to both tariffs as well as to NTBs in the same paragraph or how 
the United States and other co-sponsors were trying to delink tariffs from NTBs.  At the Symposium, G/IT/M/55 
Page 10  
 
  many of the US industry participants were adaman t that only tariffs should be addressed.  On NTBs, 
he wanted to know whether any of the ITA Particip ants were looking at disciplining standards on IT 
products which he thought was a very critical area for NTBs and which were really the fundamental 
market access barriers to these products.  The applied tariffs were not so substantial as so to create 
those market access barriers and many companies we re managing to export their products.  On the 
issue of classification divergences, he said that it was an issue that comprised 55 products and had not 
been resolved for the past 15 years. He doubted th at one could just brush it aside in terms of saying 
that these were complicated by HS96, HS2002 or  HS2007 nomenclature changes as otherwise the 
participants would have actually solved the problem  in the first place.  He posed a question to the 
Secretariat regarding procedures for consultations  concerning the decision of Paragraph 3 of the 
Annex to the Ministerial Deceleration which gave the mandate to the CTG.  He said that there was a 
decision which came out later on the implementation of  the Ministerial Declaration, G/L/160.  In his 
view, it talked about the mandate of this particular  Committee as well as the fact that the first review 
would be conducted in 1 997 and 1998. However, there were no procedures in place for subsequent 
reviews.  Thus, he wished to have some clarification from the Secretariat on this. 
3.12 The representative of Korea stated that as a co-sponsor of the joint concept paper, his 
delegation also agreed with other co-sponsors and other Participants.  The fundamental problem of the 
current ITA was product coverage.  The current ITA did not apply to all ICT products in an era of 
technical convergences among IT products.  This ex clusion had the potential to erode the product 
coverage of the ITA.  His delegation hoped that th e joint paper would be a good starting point for the 
Committee's discussion on an ITA expansion.  He believed that to launch and conclude the 
negotiations, the Participants should not repeat the 1998 suspension experience, and that they all 
would need to show flexibility and willingness with a view to giving the future negotiations a chance 
of success. 
3.13 The representative of Hong Kong, China tha nked the co-sponsors for their concept paper.  
She said that it provided a framework for ITA Partic ipants to start discussions on ITA expansion.  
Her delegation supported the concep t paper and looked forward to wo rking constructively with all 
Participants on this issue. 
3.14 The representative of Israel acknowledged the call received from industry that it was time to 
update the Agreement after 15 years.  He theref ore supported a serious discussion in good faith to 
examine further expansion of the ITA and also to  discuss other issues if there was a willingness from 
the membership to do that.  He also acknowledged that it was important to keep inclusiveness and 
transparency as broad as possible.  In this regard, the Committee would have a role to play in further 
consultations both informally and formally. 
3.15 The representative of Egypt thanked the co-sponsor s for the concept paper.  Since they had 
received it a few days before the Committee meeti ng, his delegation was still consulting with capital 
and they needed some more information on the sco pe of the review and the ideas to include non-ITA 
members in the Agreement.  His delegation reserved the right to come back to the Committee at the 
next meeting with a detailed positi on.  He supported the statements made by the delegations of El 
Salvador and India.  He stated that when the ITA was concluded in December 1996, there were only 
few developing country Participants but now, they we re the majority.  Their pre-ITA applied tariffs, 
including those of Egypt were generally higher than the average of the developed country ITA 
Participants.  While it was true that since the la unch of the ITA, some developing countries had 
gradually gained market share, developed countries still accounted for more than 67 per cent of world 
ITA exports.  What was more important to menti on was that some ITA Participants had benefited 
more than others.  The expansi on of developing countries' share in ITA trade could be observed 
throughout a limited number of developing countries.  In this regard, trade data should be carefully 
assessed.  These elements reflected a need for a fine balance to be struck between the reduction of 
tariffs and development of IT i ndustry in developing countries.  G/IT/M/55 
 Page 11 
 
 
  3.16  The representative of Peru agreed with the review as proposed by the United States and the 
other co-sponsors and agreed with what had been said by the European Union.  As had been 
mentioned in informal consultations as well as at this  meeting, he felt that it was necessary to have a 
base list of products to be included.  In his vi ew, this would help his authorities carry out any 
necessary evaluations and assessments.  He further said that it was essential to initiate discussions on 
the issue of NTBs so as to enable Peru to know  how the process would be carried out and which 
elements would be included. 
3.17 The representative of Costa Rica supported the concept paper and agreed with what had been 
said by the US, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Singapore and others.  He stated that their decision to join 
other co-sponsors was a reflection of  their determination to support the expansion of product coverage 
in ITA.  This was based on their positive expe rience as a small developing country that was a 
Participant to this Agreement and also on the evid ence available to them which proved very clearly 
that the ITA had already been a win-win experience.   It was important for ITA Participants to act 
consistently and quickly with the recommendations  and conclusions that they had heard from the 
private sector during the Symposium.  Rapid devel opment and evaluation of technology made this an 
even better opportunity to start the discussions and Costa Rica respectfully urged other Participants to 
participate constructively in this initiative. 
3.18 The representative of New Zealand thanked th e Chairman, the Secretariat and all those who 
had contributed to the Symposium.  The discussi ons during the Symposium underscored the value of 
the existing ITA as well as the importance of ensuring its enduring relevance in the future to reflect 
the changing nature of technology and business pattern s.  The range of presentations gave them food 
for thought and the industry had set this Committ ee a significant challenge.  The concept paper 
provided a useful basis on which the Committee c ould begin to actively explore how Participants 
should move to discussions on the elements including  expansion of product co verage to reflect new 
technological realities, a broadening of the range  of Participants as well as how to address the 
question of NTBs that would affect this sector.  Ne w Zealand stood ready to participate fully in these 
discussions. 
3.19 The representative of the United States e xpressed his appreciation for EU's endorsement of 
the joint concept paper and underscored his willingn ess to explore with the EU and others any ideas 
on how the Committee could advance work under the NTM work program. 
3.20 The Chairman thanked all delegations w ho had made reports and interventions.  He 
encouraged them to continue their bilateral and plurilateral consulta tions and to report and update the 
Committee at its next meeting.  He suggested that the Committee take note of all the statements made 
and agree to come back to this matter at the next meeting.  
3.21 It was so agreed. 
4. Proposal from the European Communities Concerning the Review of the Information 
Technology Agreement (ITA) (G/IT/W/28 and JOB/IT/5) 
4.1 The Chairman recalled that at the meeti ng of 30 October 2008, the Committee had discussed 
the proposal by the European Union concerning the Review of the ITA as contained in G/IT/W/28.  
He further recalled that Participants had an intens ive exchange of views on the proposal and a number 
of queries were raised to the proponent, seeking furt her information and clarification, including those 
from ASEAN ITA Participants as contained in document JOB(08)/116.  On 11 October 2011, the 
European Union had submitted a new communication regarding the review of the ITA which was 
circulated as document JOB/IT/5, which contained answers to questions from ASEAN ITA 
Participants on the EU proposal.  At previous meeti ngs, he had encouraged th e proponent to continue 
to engage bilaterally with those delegations with a view to enabling the Committee to consider the G/IT/M/55 
Page 12  
 
  initiation of informal consultations on this issue as soon as possible.  He invited the delegation of the 
European Union to give an update.  
4.2  The representative of the European Union st ated that the submission which was presented 
three and half years ago had accomplished its purpo se.  He noted that there had been broad support 
since then for an intensification of the work carri ed out under Paragraph 3.  A number of delegations 
had expressed interest in concluding this work as  speedily as possible and in a manner which would 
be inclusive and transparent so that all the Partic ipants could be up to date on what was going on as 
well as being able to participate if they were inte rested.  He hoped that their support on the work on 
product expansion and other elemen ts mentioned could be starte d and be carried out.     
4.3 The Chairman suggested th at this issue be closed. 
4.4 It was so agreed. 
5. EMC/EMI Pilot Project - Draft List of the Ty pes of Conformity As sessment Procedures 
for EMC/EMI used by ITA Participants (G/IT/W/17/Rev.7) 
5.1  The Chairman recalled that at the end of 2000, the ITA Committee had approved a Work 
Programme on Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) with the objective of identifying impediments to trade in 
ITA products.  One of the outcomes of that exercise was the completion of a pilot project which led to 
the adoption of the "Guidelines for Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) and Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) Conformity Assessment Procedures" on an ad referendum  basis.  Upon the 
adoption of these "Guidelines", the Secretariat, based on the survey responses submitted by and notifications received from Participants, had prep ared a note on the "Draft List of Types of 
Conformity Assessment Procedures for EMC/EMI used by ITA Participants" (G/IT/W/17).  
Participants had found the information contained therei n very useful and wished to have it completed.  
With the recent notification by Costa Rica, among the 47 Participants, 27 of them had provided such 
information.  However, 20 Participants had neith er submitted a survey response nor a notification 
regarding the type of assessment procedures used by their authorities for EMC/EMI.  
5.2 He further recalled that as  was agreed at the Committee meeting of 11 November 2010, his 
predecessor had written again on 17 December 2010 to those Participants that had not submitted a 
survey response or a notification and urged them once again to provide the information concerning 
their conformity assessment procedures for EMC/MEI.  The Secretariat had contacted some of those delegations again and responses were still pending.  In his view, this information had greatly 
increased transparency of the types of conformity  assessment procedures for EMC/EMI used by these 
ITA Participants which would, in turn, facilitate  international trade in this important sector.  
He invited Participants for any comments, interventio ns and new information that they might have to 
update the draft list (G/IT/W/17/Rev.7). 
5.3  The representative of Costa Rica thanked the S ecretariat for updating the draft list of the types 
of procedures for conformation assessment related to EMC used by ITA Participants, including Costa 
Rica's proposal on conformity assessment.  They we re happy to share this information with the 
Committee to promote transparency and better awar eness of conformity assessment procedures for 
those participating in the Agreement.   
5.4 The representative of Switzerland not ed that in the case of her country,  their information was 
no longer up to date and that they would soon prov ide the updated informati on to the Secretariat.  
She urged those Participants that had submitted information, to recheck the information as it could be 
outdated.  G/IT/M/55 
 Page 13 
 
 
  5.5 The representative of the Philippines  thanked the Secretariat for the latest revision of the 
document.  She echoed the Swiss delegate and indi cated that the Philippines had notified a long time 
ago and that they would be asking capital if there was a need to update the in formation.  This work 
was part of their work program on NTMs and she jo ined the Chairman's call to other Participants 
which had not yet replied to the survey questionn aire to do so.  Technical assistance could be 
provided by the Secretariat to those who so require d it.  This would send a very positive signal to the 
work of the Committee if at least this work that  was started some years ago could be completed. 
5.6 The representative of the United States appreciated the  remarks by Switzerland and the 
Philippines.  His delegation found the information very useful and welcomed the recent submission 
from Costa Rica.  He strongly en couraged those who had not completed the survey to do so.  
Transparency regarding conformity assessment pro cedures was important for a number of reasons.  
It was useful for industry, particularly given the glob al nature of the industry and could facilitate trade 
and reduce costs for business.  It was also useful  for governments who could then consider whether 
approaches used by other Members could work for th em as well.  In his view, the survey responses 
were an important step and also had practical valu e.  Moreover, transparency fostered by the surveys 
could promote future liberalization consistent w ith market development and regulatory capacity.  
It also promoted the use of good regulatory prac tices leading to more harmonized approaches in 
conformity assessment procedures. 
5.7 The representative of India noted that am ong of 47 Participants, only 27 had notified their 
specifics for conformity assessment procedures.  Many of them had different profiling of IT products 
and might be using different conformity assessment  procedures for different products. He, therefore, 
asked Participants to re-examine their conform ity assessment procedures as some Participants might 
have two or three different conformity assessmen t procedures for these products.  He was surprised 
that Participants had a single conformity asse ssment procedure for all the IT products.  
5.8 The representative of the European Union  joined previous speakers and supported the idea of 
updating the list as it would be useful, provide a goo d basis to examine further work and to see good 
practices.  The identification of the factual situation was probably an excellent first start of the 
Committee's work in this regard. 
5.9 The Chairman suggested that the Committee take  note of all the information and statements.  
He encouraged the remaining 20 Participants to pr ovide the information to the Secretariat to enable 
the Committee to complete this work.  In parallel, he  also asked the Secretariat to continue contacting 
delegations with a view to providing technical assistance if needed. 
5.10 The Committee took note of all the statements. 
6. Non-tariff Measures Work Programme (G /IT/19, G/IT/SPEC/Q4/19/Rev.2 and 
G/IT/SPEC/Q2/11/Rev.1) 
6.1 The Chairman recalled that at the previous meetings of the Committ ee, several delegations 
had emphasized the importance of the Committee's wo rk on NTBs in the ITA sector and reported the 
developments in the NAMA negotiations on NTBs, where two delegations had made their proposals 
on NTBs in the electronic sector.  At the previous  meetings of the Committee, these two delegations 
had updated and commented on their revised proposal s on TBT related NTBs as applied to trade in 
electronics and NTBs pertaining to the electrical safety and electromagnetic compatibility of electronic goods in the context of NAMA.  One even shared its thinking about launching new areas and breaking new grounds for trade in IT products, which, in his view, was very interesting.  
He invited those delegations who might wish to comment or update the Committee on this subject 
matter. G/IT/M/55 
Page 14  
 
  6.2 The representative of the European Union  stated that  as one of the delegations who had been 
very actively involved in the NAMA NTB discussi ons, he wanted to make a point between the 
approach that had been fostered in the NAMA NTB negotiations and the approach that they had in 
mind in the context of the ITA review/expansi on.  Taking into account the very intensive 
consultations conducted with quite a large number of Participants over the previous few weeks, they 
had observed and taken into account the comments of  many delegations who wanted to work on a 
more principles-based approach, guidance, good regulatory practices.  As a consequence they had taken the decision already to work in that direction.  They intended, in the following weeks and months to expand the process of c onsultation and discussion with inter ested delegations so that they 
could nourish the debate and come with ideas and contributions on which they expected further 
exchanges which could lead to advancement in this area. 
6.3 The Committee took note of the statements. 
7. Divergences in Classifying Information T echnology Products (G/IT/14/Rev.1/Add.1, 
G/IT/W/6/Rev.3, G/IT/W/33 and G/IT/W/34)  
7.1 The Chairman recalled that at the previous  Committee meeting, his predecessor had invited 
the Participants to consider a draft decisi on proposed by the Chairman - "Decision for the 
Classification of Certain Attachment B Products" on the endorsement of List I - A items, circulated as a room document at the last Committee meeting.  Once the Decision was adopted, each Participant 
would reflect the agreed classification in its WT O Schedule of concessions, as appropriate, following 
the procedures set forth in the 1980 Decision on Procedures for Modification and Rectification of Schedules of Tariff Concessions (BISD 27S/25).  Participants had to submit the relevant 
documentation in connection with such modifications no later than a date as specified in the Decision.  
In order to help the Participants, in particular , those newly joined Participants, to understand the 
difficulties that they might have deriving from the process of transposition, the Secretariat had 
prepared a technical note "Classification Divergen ces: Transposition of Items in List I - A into 
HS2002 and HS2007 as contained in G/IT/W/33 of 16 May 2011.  He indicated that before the last 
Committee meeting, the draft decision proposed by the Chairman had been circulated on 
10 October 2011 as document G/IT/W/34.  He invited Participants for their views.  
7.2 The representative of El Salvador stated th at as indicated in the previous meeting, her 
authorities were still in the process of consider ing the classification proposed for the eighteen 
products of List 1A.  From the work carried out to date, she understood that her capital agreed with 
many of the classifications proposed by experts for produc ts contained in this list.  However, they still 
had a few doubts and continued to analyse a few ot her products, including item 103, in other words, 
sub-item 62.2000.  Therefore, her delegation was not yet ready to adopt this decision at the meeting 
and hoped to participate in the info rmal consultations on this issue. 
7.3 The representative of Hong Kong, China  indicated that her delegation had no problem with 
the draft decision and hoped that it could be adopted  as early as possible.  Her delegation also looked 
forward to an early conclusion of the discussion on the remaining list of products. 
7.4 The representative of the Philippines agreed with Hong Kong, China.  The Philippines had 
intervened a lot on this subject during the previ ous meetings of the Committee but, her delegation 
understood that some Participants had some diffi culties.  Further discussions  in the Committee could 
help as she recalled very well how customs expert s had laboured for a number of weeks to come up 
with the proposed classifications.  As quite a number  of Participants were not  engaged in the work of 
the customs experts in the past, she agreed that the Secretariat could continue to assist those who were 
not present during the work of the customs expert s.  Her delegation wanted to see the Committee 
adopt a decision on classification divergences.  G/IT/M/55 
 Page 15 
 
 
  7.5 The representative of the United States  supported the draft decision that the Committee 
endorsed for List 1A items as proposed by the Ch airman last year.  While the current expansion 
initiative would not in itself address classification dive rges for products that were already covered by 
the ITA, his delegation wanted to note that e xpanding ITA product coverage to eliminate duties on 
additional products and listing these products in an  updated HS nomenclature would complement the 
Committee's work on classification while both effort s would contribute to reducing impediments to 
trade in IT products. 
7.6 The Chairman thanked all de legations who had made statemen ts and felt that Participants 
needed more time for consultations to determine vari ous aspects of this draft decision.  He suggested 
that the Chairman continue to hold consultations on  this matter as appropriate with a view to adopting 
a decision at a future meeting of the Committee.  
7.7  It was so agreed. 
8. New Participants 
8.1 The Chairman stated that under this item, there were two sub-items:  
- Participation of Montenegro 
8.2 It was recalled that on 21 November 2011, the Secretariat had received a communication from 
the Ministry of Economy of Montenegro confirming Montenegro's commitment to become a Participant of the Ministerial Declaration on Tr ade in Information Technology Products (ITA) upon 
its accession to the WTO.  On 26 April 2012, the S ecretariat had received Montenegro's ITA schedule 
for circulation to Participants for consideration a nd approval.  After the electronic verification by the 
Secretariat, Montenegro's ITA schedule had shown no discrepancies.  Subsequently, on 
27 April 2012, the Secretariat had distributed to Participants, hard copies of Montenegro's ITA 
schedule with a verification sheet.  The electronic version of Montenegro's ITA schedule was also 
made available to delegations upon request.  In the Secretariat's fax to Participants on 27 April 2012, 
it was suggested that the Committee approve Monteneg ro's ITA schedule at this meeting.  However, 
given that Montenegro's ITA schedule was in HS 2007,  more time would be required by Participants 
to conduct their own review and veri fication.  Therefore, he suggest ed that the Comm ittee agree that 
Montenegro's ITA schedule be deemed to be appr oved unless any Participant notified its objection in 
writing to the Secretariat by 30 May 2012.  Thus Pa rticipants would have tw o more weeks to review 
the schedule.  The Secretariat, later on, would issu e a fax confirming Montenegro's participation in the 
ITA.   
8.3 It was so agreed. 
- Progress report by the Russian Federation 
8.4 The representative of the Russian Federation c ongratulated the Chairman and other colleagues 
on the 15th anniversary of the ITA, and considered the ITA as a very meaningful and successful trade 
agreement of the Organization.  The Russian Fe deration had committed to duty-free treatment for 
products covered by the ITA and intended to fully join the ITA when it became a Member of the 
WTO.  In order to ensure her country's partic ipation in the ITA, her delegation requested the 
Secretariat on 16 March 2012 to prepare a draft ITA schedule of the Russian Federation which they had received on 13 April.  She thanked the Secretar iat for the tremendous work done.  Her authorities 
were working on the draft and would prepare a ppropriate changes and answers in due course. G/IT/M/55 
Page 16  
 
  8.5 The representative of the United States  noted that his authorities looked forward to reviewing 
Russia's ITA schedule and stood ready to support any necessary work so that Russia would be in a 
position to join the ITA when it became a Member of the WTO. 
8.6 The representative of Chinese Taipei  looked forward to reviewing Russia's schedule and 
hoped for early accession of Russia to the ITA. 
8.7 The Committee took note of the statements made. 
9. Election of Chairperson 
9.1 The Chairman stated that pursuant to consu ltations by the Chairman of the Council for Trade 
in Goods, a consensus had been informally reached on the election of Mr Aaron Fowler (Canada) as 
the new Chairman of this Committee.  The Chairm an proposed the election of Mr Aaron Fowler. 
9.2 The Committee elected Mr Aaron Fowler  as the new Chairman of the Committee of 
Participants on the Expansion of Trade in In formation Technology Products by acclamation. 
9.3 Mr Aaron Fowler assumed his role as Chairman of the Committee. 9.4 The outgoing Chairman (Mr Zahari MD Ali) expressed his thanks to Members of the 
Committee, the Secretariat, and the new Chairman. 
9.5 The incoming Chairman, Mr Aaron Fowler , expressed his appreciation to the outgoing 
Chairman, Mr Zahari MS Ali.  He also expressed his sincere thanks to al l Participants for accepting 
his nomination and giving him the role of Chairman, during what promised to be an interesting period 
for the ITA.  Collectively, all Participants would have an opportunity to do some very important work 
to ensure that the ITA continued to be a meani ngful Agreement both to participating economies as 
Participants and more importantly to stakeholders in this crucial sector.  He said that Participants had 
heard very clearly over the course of the last Sympos ium, the very strong expectations of the global 
ICT industry in that regard and he was very excite d at the opportunity and confident that collectively 
the Committee could deliver important progress.  In th at respect, he assured Participants that he would 
be available to consult with any of them on any issu e at any time and he would make every effort to 
facilitate the full range of work that Participants  had decided to undertake.  He also extended his 
sincere thanks and appreciation to the outgoing Ch airman for his extensive work and direction over 
the course of the previous year in particular, his efforts in organising and expertly facilitating the 15th 
Anniversary Symposium.  
10. Other Business 
- Date of the next meeting 
10.1 The Chairman proposed the Committee hold its next meeting in the sec ond half of 2012 with 
the exact date to be decided in consultation with Participants.  
10.2 It was so agreed. 
__________