Asian tech firms push expanded WTO IT deal

Asian semiconductor and electronics manufacturers have called on the World Trade Organization (WTO) to resume the suspended talks on expanding the Information Technology Agreement (ITA 2) in order to push their “Green IT” agenda.

“Setting in place the conditions for expanding trade in IT products is also a key issue in terms of disseminating green IT in Asia. ITA expansion will further promote the unimpeded distribution of electronics products with a strong environmental performance and contribute substantially to green IT promotion,” a statement released by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (Meti) read. “Asia Green IT Forum members, too, look forward to an early conclusion to the ITA expansion negotiations that are currently underway.”

Talks on ITA 2 collapsed last year when China demanded a shorter list of IT goods that would merit lower tariffs.

The proposed ITA 2 would slash the duties on over 250 products developed during the rapid pace of IT development since the original ITA went into force in 1996.

The expanded agreement is set to cover 99 percent of the global IT trade, including the newest types of semiconductors, telecommunications and medical devices, as well as scientific equipment. The deal is seen to expand the annual global gross domestic product by $190 billion, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

The Philippines is part of the original ITA, as well as of the negotiations for ITA 2. A total of 54 WTO member-countries, including 28 from the European Union, have been participating in ITA 2 discussions.

The first ITA covers a wide array of goods comprising about 9.5 percent of global merchandise exports, and about 90 percent of world trade in IT products worth $1.6 trillion in 2012.

ITA 1 includes almost 250 items from the following IT subsectors: computers, semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, telecommunications apparatus, instruments and apparatus, data storage, and parts and accessories.

The Asia Green IT Forum is an annual convention held by Asian governments, as well as electronics manufacturers in a bid to promote Green IT across the region. According to Meti, the Green IT initiative is meant to curb the increase in energy consumption of IT equipment.

The Sixth Asia Green IT Forum, held in the Philippines last June 3, was attended by representatives from Meti, Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association, Indonesia Green ICT Association, Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association, Vietnam Electronic Industry Association, Thailand’s Electrical and Electronics Institute, Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc., and the Philippine government’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources, as well as Department of Energy.

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