. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/L/838 
9 November 2007 
 (07-4872) 
 
  
 
REPORT (2007) OF THE COMMITTEE OF  PARTICIPANTS ON  THE EXPANSION 
OF TRADE IN INFORMAT ION TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS  
 
 1. The Committee of Participants on the Expans ion 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  thus far in 2007:  on 29 March, and 
6 November.  The minutes of these meetings are contained in documents G/IT/M/48 to G/IT/M/49.  
Mr. Khalid I. Emara (Egypt) was elected Chairman of the Committee for 2007. 
3. The total number of participants to the Mini sterial Declaration is seventy. Since the last 
report, the schedule of the United Arab Emirates wa s circulated and approved by the Committee. At 
the meeting of 6 November 2008, the Committee agre ed that the ITA schedule of Ukraine will be 
deemed to be approved unless any participant woul d notify in writing to the Secretariat within two 
weeks from the date of circulati on of Ukraine's ITA schedule. At the moment, Ukraine's draft ITA 
schedule of commitments is under verification by the Secretariat. It is anticipated that Ukraine will soon become the 71
st participant to the Ministerial Declaration once its schedule is approve d. It is noted that 
as part of Ukraine's WTO accession commitments, th e concessions contained in  Ukraine's ITA schedule 
will come into effect upon the date of Ukraine's accession to the WTO. The Committee's rules of procedure provide for observer status in the Commi ttee 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 inte rgovernmental organizations are considered on a 
case-by-case basis.  The International Trade Centre (ITC) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Developmen t (OECD) have been granted observer status; and the World Customs 
Organization (WCO) has been granted observer status to meetings where the issues of HS 
classification and HS amendments are included in the agenda. 
4. The Committee continued work on the Non-Tari ff Measures (NTMs) Work Programme.  It 
took note of the Secretariat's papers on  the subject (G/IT/SPEC/Q2/11/Rev.1 and 
G/IT/SPEC/Q4/19/Rev.2) which provided an overview of the submissions and an overview of the 
survey responses. The Committee proceeded with  its work on the EMC/EMI Pilot Project and 
approved the "Guidelines for EMC/EMI Conform ity Assessment Procedures" (G/IT/25) on an 
ad referendum  basis. It also took note of the Secretaria t's note of the "Draft List of the Types of 
Conformity Assessment Procedures for EMC/EMI U sed by ITA Participants" (G/IT/W/17/Rev.4).   
5. The Committee further continued its work on classi fication divergences.  In this respect, the 
Committee continued to use the last report from th e customs experts (G/IT/14/Rev.1/Add.1) and the 
compilation document, as revised by the Secretariat (G/IT/W/6/Rev.3), as the basis for its discussions.  
In the past year, the Committee focused its discu ssions on the List V items (G/IT/W15, G/IT/W/20 G/L/838 
Page 2  
 
  and JOB(07)/91/Rev.1). Communications were also  received from the World Customs Organization 
(WCO) concerning List III (G/IT/26/Add.2).  
6. As a follow-up to the IT Symposium organized by the Committee in October 2004, a number 
of elements were taken up for discussions in the past  year (G/IT/W/14), and in particular on the issue 
of classification related to the transpositions of  HS96 to HS2002 (G/IT/W/22) and of HS2002 to 
HS2007 (G/IT/W/25 and (JOB(07)/96). Discussions are expected to continue on these matters in the 
course of its future work.   
7. Based on the decision taken by the Committee in 2006, an IT Symposium was organized on 
28 and 29 March 2007 with the participation of the private sector to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the ITA. The purpose of the Sympos ium was to conduct a review of the operation of 
the ITA over the past decade with  the increased participation of developing countries; to provide an 
overview of the status quo or the dynamics of the IT sector, taking into account the latest 
developments in technological convergence and the impact of globalisation; and to highlight the 
prospects for and challenges to further expansion of trade in ITA products with a view to ensuring the 
original objective of the ITA is maintained. A chai rman's summary of the symposium, as well as the 
statements and presentations of all speakers are available on the WTO website. 
8. At the meetings of 29 March and 6 Novemb er 2007, the Committee discussed the proposals 
by the Unites States concerning product coverage  of the current ITA (G/IT/W/21, G/IT/W/23 and G/IT/W/26).   
9. 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. Two participan ts were still awaiting the completion of domestic 
procedural requirements or had not yet submitted the necessary documentation.   
10. The Chairman regularly informed the Committe e under "other business" that participants 
continued to consult among themselve s on review of product coverage.  He encouraged delegations to 
continue their efforts.     
 
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