WTO Information Technology Agreement (ITA) Committee Meeting on 7 May 2025: Consideration of ITA Membership Expansion, Linkages with AI and E-Commerce

Accordingly, the Members agreed to hold 3 thematic meetings from the end of 2025 to the end of 2026 with the following topics: "Opportunities for participation in ITA: Experiences of participating Members and stakeholders" with the aim of expanding participation in ITA and the ITA Extension Agreement (ITA2); "The role of ITA in promoting artificial intelligence and other new technologies"; "The role of ITA in supporting e-commerce and addressing the digital divide".

The Chair also provided an update on consultations with Members on advancing the discussion of non-tariff measures (NTMs) applied by governments to regulate trade. Proposals included: focusing on NTMs applicable to the most traded ITA products, such as mobile phones and computers, and addressing NTMs related to the remanufacture of electronic products (disassembly and repair of used equipment). Members also proposed holding a joint meeting of the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee, conducting a survey to identify NTMs that Members would like to discuss, and reviving the NTM working group.

The Secretariat has also provided guidance on how to update the classification of 22 IT products (for which HS codes are not yet agreed, including flat-panel displays and networking equipment) to align with the 2022 version of the Harmonized System (HS) — the system used to classify traded goods and determine applicable tariffs. The guidance will be subject to comments from the World Customs Organization (WCO). The European Union (EU), Japan, Hong Kong-China, and the United Kingdom welcomed the initial steps to address the challenges of classification in the tariff schedules for the 22 IT products mentioned above to ensure effective implementation of the agreements.

The meeting also continued to discuss ITA implementation issues including concerns over Indonesian and Egyptian import duties on IT products and mobile phones.

The next meeting is scheduled for November 4, 2025.

The ITA Agreement (ITA1) is a plurilateral agreement, signed in 1996, currently with over 80 WTO members participating, accounting for about 97% of world trade in information technology (IT) products. Members participating in ITA1 commit to completely eliminating tariffs on IT products within the scope of the Agreement, including semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, telecommunications equipment, software and equipment, memory storage accessories, etc.

In 2007, Vietnam joined ITA1 when joining the WTO, and committed to gradually remove and move towards tax exemption for about 300 IT products by 2014. In 2015, more than 50 WTO members signed the ITA Expansion Agreement (ITA2) through the list of additional 201 products not yet regulated in ITA1.

Source: Vietnamese Delegation in Geneva

Source: https://moit.gov.vn/tin-tuc/thi-truong-nuoc-ngoai/phien-hop-uy-ban-hiep-dinh-cong-nghe-thong-tin-ita-wto-ngay-7-5-2025-xem-xet-mo-rong-thanh-vien-tham-gia-ita-moi-lien-ke.html