. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/L/944 
16 November 2010 
 
 (10-6120) 
  
  
 
REPORT (2010) OF THE COMMITTEE OF  PARTICIPANTS ON THE EXPANSION 
OF TRADE IN INFORMATION 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 2010: i.e. on 8 July and 11 November.  The 
minutes of these meetings are contained in documen ts G/IT/M/51 and G/IT/M/52 (to be issued).  
Mr. Tomohiro Kaneko (Japan) was elected Chairman of the Committee for 2010. 
3. The total number of participants to the Minister ial Declaration is seventy-three (73).  At the 
meeting of 8 July 2010, the Committee agreed th at the ITA schedule of Kuwait be deemed to be 
approved unless any participant would notify in writi ng to the Secretariat within two weeks from the 
circulation of Kuwait's ITA schedule.  On 13 Se ptember 2010, it was confirmed that the ITA schedule 
of Kuwait was formally approved and therefore, Kuwa it became the 73rd participant to the Ministerial 
Declaration.  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 
intergovernmental organizations are considered on a case-by-case basis.  Th e International Trade 
Centre (ITC) and the Organization 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 the issues of HS cla ssification and HS amendments are included in the 
agenda. 
4. The Committee continued its deliberations on the Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) Work 
Programme.  With regard to its work on the EM C/EMI Pilot Project, the Committee took note that 
among the 46 participants, 24 of them have provide d their survey responses and encouraged those 
who had not provided the information to do so with out 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 c ontributions to the work on NTMs, including those in other bodies of 
the WTO, e.g., in the NGMA.   
5. The Committee further continued its work on classi fication divergences.  In this respect, the 
Committee heard a report on the Chairman's subsequent  consultations with th e Participants and the 
follow-ups since the Committee meeting of 30 Oct ober 2008.  The Committee also discussed on how 
to advance the Committee's work on classification divergences.  
6. At the meeting of 11 November 2010, the Committe e, at the request of the European Union, 
discussed, in an informal mode, the proposal ta bled by the European Union in September 2008 
(G/IT/W/28) concerning the review of ITA.  The Chair reported to the Committee that as a result of G/L/944 
Page 2  
 
  the discussions that took place in the informal mode, participants were  open to continue the 
discussions on the review process, and agreed to reve rt to this issue at the next meeting.    
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.  Two particip ants were still awaiting the completion of domestic 
procedural requirements or had not yet submitted the necessary documentation.   
8. The Chairman regularly informed the Committee 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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