The argument against sectoral agreements has always been that they are pushed by countries that hold a comparative advantage in the promoted sector. However, the countries taking part in the ITA process are the major producers and traders of the products and services under discussion, and every country at the table has something to gain from further market opening. If negotiators fold ITA-2 into the upcoming comprehensive round, they will ensure less IT liberalization and accentuate the impression, left by the stall in the early, sectoral, voluntary liberalization process, that market opening is no longer important. In stark contrast to the weak arguments against expanding the ITA is the mountain of evidence showing that further market opening in IT sectors will produce outsized economic gains. From a theoretical perspective, the benefits of reducing trade barriers such as tariffs and quotas are crystal clear.
Trade enables all countries to gain through exchange and specialization.
The actual gains from trade liberalization are likely larger than these estimates imply. The comparative static models used to derive these estimates do not measure the dynamic gains that can persist even after the initial spurt in growth. The Comparative Static Model versus the Dynamic Approach. The superior export and growth performance in Asia, compared to that of Africa and Latin America, and a host of empirical studies, suggest a strong link between open markets and economic performance. The waves of tariff reductions that occurred under the auspices of the GATT facilitated structural changes that remade many developing economies.