ITA expansion commitments

A large majority of participants in the newly-expanded Information Technology Agreement (ITA) have now implemented their tariff commitments under the deal, with full implementation on track for the near future.

Reporting on behalf of the ITA Expansion group to the WTO’s ITA Committee, Canada said it was pleased to note that 18 of the 24 participants in the expanded ITA have now submitted modified tariff schedules and that others were on track to do so. In summary, implementation of the agreement is well advanced, with participants on track to secure full implementation in the near future.

The agreement received a major boost on 26 October 2016 when China submitted its ITA expansion commitments to WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo for inclusion in its WTO schedule of concessions. China’s commitments were ratified by the country’s Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on 3 September 2016, and China started implementing its first tariff cuts on covered goods from 15 September 2016.