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Monday, July 27, 2015

World Trad Organization(WTO) Members reach landmark $1.3 trillion IT trade deal Friday July 24,2015

 
WTO members representing major exporters of information technology products agreed today (24 July) to eliminate tariffs on more than 200 such products.

In a meeting this afternoon at the WTO headquarters in Geneva, a tentative accord reached by 54 WTO members on 18 July was confirmed as the basis for implementation work to begin.

Ministers from the participating members will now work to conclude their implementation plans in time for the WTO's 10th Ministerial Conference which will be held in Nairobi this December 2015

The agreement this month is an expansion of the 1996 Information Technology Agreement which involves 81 members. In 2012, members recognized that technological innovation had advanced to such an extent that many new categories of IT products were not covered by the existing agreement. Negotiations began in 2012 to expand the coverage of the accord. 

Under the terms of the agreement, the majority of tariffs will be eliminated on these products within three years, with reductions beginning in 2016. By the end of October 2015, each of the participating members will submit to the other participants a draft schedule which spells out how the terms of the agreement would be met.
Participants will spend the coming months preparing and verifying these schedules. The objective is to conclude this technical work in time for the Nairobi Ministerial Conference in December 2015

“Today's agreement is a landmark,” said WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo. “Annual trade in these 201 products is valued at over $1.3 trillion per year, and accounts for approximately 7% of total global trade today.

Eliminating tariffs on trade of this magnitude will have a huge impact. It will support lower prices — including in many other sectors that use IT products as inputs — it will create jobs and it will help to boost GDP growth around the world. This is the first major tariff-cutting deal at the WTO in 18 years

The Director-General added that all 161 WTO members will benefit from this WTO agreement, as they will all enjoy duty-free market access in the markets of those members who are eliminating tariffs on these products. The terms of the agreement will be formally circulated to the full membership at a meeting of the WTO General Council on 28 July.

Note

The WTO currently has 161 members

Of the 128 states party to the GATT at the end of 1994, all have since become WTO members except Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

As of 2014, four of the successor states of the SFRY are WTO members (Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia and Montenegro), and the remaining two (Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia) are observers negotiating membership

The WTO has 23 observer states

Sechelles is the newest full member, joining on 26 April 2015

List of members and accession dates


Country

Date of Accession
 Albania 8 September 2000
 Angola 23 November 1996
 Antigua and Barbuda 1 January 1995
 Argentina 1 January 1995
 Armenia 5 February 2003
 Australia 1 January 1995
 Austria ( EU) 1 January 1995
 Bahrain 1 January 1995
 Bangladesh 1 January 1995
 Barbados 1 January 1995
 Belgium ( EU) 1 January 1995
 Belize 1 January 1995
 Benin 22 February 1996
 Bolivia 12 September 1995
 Botswana 31 May 1995
 Brazil 1 January 1995
 Brunei Darussalam 1 January 1995
 Bulgaria ( EU) 1 December 1996
 Burkina Faso 3 June 1995
 Burundi 23 July 1995
 Cambodia 13 October 2004
 Cameroon 13 December 1995
 Canada 1 January 1995
 Cape Verde 23 July 2008
 Central African Republic 31 May 1995
 Chad 19 October 1996
 Chile 1 January 1995
 China 11 December 2001
 Colombia 30 April 1995
 Costa Rica 1 January 1995
 Croatia ( EU) 30 November 2000
 Cuba 20 April 1995
 Cyprus ( EU) 30 July 1995
 Czech Republic ( EU) 1 January 1995
 Côte d'Ivoire 1 January 1995
 Democratic Republic of the Congo 1 January 1997
 Denmark ( EU) 1 January 1995
 Djibouti 31 May 1995
 Dominica 1 January 1995
 Dominican Republic 9 March 1995
 Ecuador 21 January 1996
 Egypt 30 June 1995
 El Salvador 7 May 1995
 Estonia ( EU) 13 November 1999
 European Union[note 1] 1 January 1995
 Fiji 14 January 1996
 Finland ( EU) 1 January 1995
 France ( EU) 1 January 1995
 Gabon 1 January 1995
 Gambia 23 October 1996
 Georgia 14 June 2000
 Germany ( EU) 1 January 1995
 Ghana 1 January 1995
 Greece ( EU) 1 January 1995
 Grenada 22 February 1996
 Guatemala 21 July 1995
 Guinea 25 October 1995
 Guinea-Bissau 31 May 1995
 Guyana 1 January 1995
 Haiti 30 January 1996
 Honduras 1 January 1995
 Hong Kong, China[note 2] 1 January 1995
 Hungary ( EU) 1 January 1995
 Iceland 1 January 1995
 India 1 January 1995
 Indonesia 1 January 1995
 Ireland ( EU) 1 January 1995
 Israel 21 April 1995
 Italy ( EU) 1 January 1995
 Jamaica 9 March 1995
 Japan 1 January 1995
 Jordan 11 April 2000
 Kenya 1 January 1995
 Kuwait 1 January 1995
 Kyrgyzstan 20 December 1998
 Laos 2 February 2013
 Latvia ( EU) 10 February 1999
 Lesotho 31 May 1995
 Liechtenstein 1 September 1995
 Lithuania ( EU) 31 May 2001
 Luxembourg ( EU) 1 January 1995
 Macau, China[note 3] 1 January 1995
 Madagascar 17 November 1995
 Malawi 31 May 1995
 Malaysia 1 January 1995
 Maldives 31 May 1995
 Mali 31 May 1995
 Malta ( EU) 1 January 1995
 Mauritania 31 May 1995
 Mauritius 1 January 1995
 Mexico 1 January 1995
 Moldova 26 July 2001
 Mongolia 29 January 1997
 Montenegro 29 April 2012[26]
 Morocco 1 January 1995
 Mozambique 26 August 1995
 Myanmar 1 January 1995
 Namibia 1 January 1995
   Nepal 23 April 2004
 Netherlands ( EU) 1 January 1995
 New Zealand 1 January 1995
 Nicaragua 3 September 1995
 Niger 13 December 1996
 Nigeria 1 January 1995
 Norway 1 January 1995
 Oman 9 November 2000
 Pakistan 1 January 1995
 Panama 6 September 1997
 Papua New Guinea 9 June 1996
 Paraguay 1 January 1995
 Peru 1 January 1995
 Philippines 1 January 1995
 Poland ( EU) 1 July 1995
 Portugal ( EU) 1 January 1995
 Qatar 13 January 1996
 Republic of Korea 1 January 1995
 Republic of Macedonia 4 April 2003
 Republic of the Congo 27 March 1997
 Romania ( EU) 1 January 1995
 Russia 22 August 2012
 Rwanda 22 May 1996
 Saint Kitts and Nevis 21 February 1996
 Saint Lucia 1 January 1995
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1 January 1995
 Samoa 10 May 2012[26]
 Saudi Arabia 11 December 2005
 Senegal 1 January 1995
 Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu 1 January 2002
 Seychelles 26 April 2015
 Sierra Leone 23 July 1995
 Singapore 1 January 1995
 Slovakia ( EU) 1 January 1995
 Slovenia ( EU) 30 July 1995
 Solomon Islands 26 July 1996
 South Africa 1 January 1995
 Spain ( EU) 1 January 1995
 Sri Lanka 1 January 1995
 Suriname 1 January 1995
 Swaziland 1 January 1995
 Sweden ( EU) 1 January 1995
  Switzerland 1 July 1995
 Tajikistan 2 March 2013
 Tanzania 1 January 1995
 Thailand 1 January 1995
 Togo 31 May 1995
 Tonga 27 July 2007
 Trinidad and Tobago 1 March 1995
 Tunisia 29 March 1995
 Turkey 26 March 1995
 Uganda 1 January 1995
 Ukraine 16 May 2008
 United Arab Emirates 10 April 1996
 United Kingdom ( EU) 1 January 1995
 United States 1 January 1995
 Uruguay 1 January 1995
 Vanuatu 24 August 2012[6]
 Venezuela 1 January 1995
 Vietnam 11 January 2007
 Yemen 26 June 2014
 Zambia 1 January 1995
 Zimbabwe 5 March 1995

 

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