REPORT (2020) OF THE COMMITTEE OF
PARTICIPANTS ON THE EXPANSION
OF TRADE IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS
1.1. The Committee of Participants on the Expansion 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 Technology Products (G/L/160), in order to carry out the provisions
of paragraphs 3, 5, 6, and 7 of the Annex to the Declaration.
1.2. The Committee has held one formal meeting in 2020:
30 October. The minutes of the meeting are contained in
document G/IT/M/72. Ms Uma MUNIANDY (Singapore) was elected
Chairperson of the Committee for 2020 on 29 July through written procedures.
1.3. As of 30 October 2020, the total number of
WTO Members that are participants to the Ministerial Declaration is 82.
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
details that all but one participant had submitted the formal
documentation for the rectification and modification of their
WTO schedules in order to incorporate the commitments arising from the
Ministerial Declaration, and that they had been certified by the Director‑General.
Three implementation issues, concerning India, China, and Indonesia, were
raised at the Committee's meeting in October.
1.4. The Committee's rules of procedure provide for observer status in
the Committee for WTO Members that 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. The 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
issues of HS classification and HS amendments are included on the
agenda.
1.5. The Committee continued its deliberations on the Non‑Tariff Measures
(NTMs) Work Programme in 2020. Regarding its work on the Electromagnetic
Compatibility and Electromagnetic Interference (EMC/EMI) Pilot
Project, the Committee took note that, among the 53 participants (EU‑28 countries
count as one participant), 43 had provided survey responses and
encouraged those that had not yet done so to provide the information without
any further delay. It was recalled that in order to advance and expand its work
on NTMs other than EMC/EMI, the Committee continued its discussions on the
follow‑up to the workshop held on 7 May 2015 on NTMs affecting trade
in IT products and to the Symposium for the 20th Anniversary
of the ITA held in June 2017. At the October meeting this year, the
Committee agreed that the Chairperson, in 2021, would continue to undertake
informal consultations with interested delegations to examine the
recommendations and avenues that were suggested by industry representatives at
the 7 May 2015 workshop on NTMs. Upon request, the Secretariat made a
presentation on the background of the EMC/EMI Pilot Project at the
meeting.