Yahoo – AFP,
Ben Simon, 24 July 2015
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WTO
director Roberto Azevedo says a "landmark" deal has been reached to
cut tariffs on some information technology products (AFP Photo/Roslan Rahman)
|
Geneva
(AFP) - Major exporters of information technology on Friday agreed to cut
global tariffs on more than 200 products, in the first such deal struck by the
World Trade Organization in nearly two decades.
The pact
which came after three years of frequently-stalled negotiations, covers
products ranging from video games to touch screens and GPS navigation systems.
In all, the
201 products covered account for roughly $1.3 trillion (1.18 trillion euros) or
seven percent of annual global trade.
"Today's
agreement is a landmark," WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo said in a
statement, describing the accord as "the first major tariff cutting
deal" at the organisation in 18 years.
The
European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom described the deal -- which
was initiated and brokered by the EU -- as "a great deal for consumers,
and for companies big and small".
While the
full terms of the agreement will not be released until next week, the WTO said
the highlights include the elimination of "the majority of tariffs"
on a diverse range of products within three years.
The trade
value of the IT products covered amounts to more than the "trade in
automotive products — or trade in textiles, clothing, iron and steel
combined," Azevedo.
While only
54 WTO member-states took part in the talks, all 161 nations that make up the
organisation can benefit from the outcome, the WTO said.
The EU said
an additional, "limited" number of countries is expected to confirm
its participation in the deal in the coming days.
The tariff
reductions are set to start in 2016, but participating countries must by the
end of October submit a draft schedule spelling out their plans to meet the
terms of the deal.
Logjam
broken
The
agreement is an expansion of a pact reached in 1996 by 81 WTO members, known as
the Information Technology Agreement (ITA).
In 2012,
member states resolved that the ITA needed to be revised because the world's
most valuable IT products had been invented after 1996.
But there
were considerable hurdles to striking a broader agreement, notably differences
between the United States and China.
There were
reports that China was fighting to exclude about 60 new product categories,
including certain next-generation silicon chips.
 |
US
President Barack Obama (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) drink
a toast
at a lunch banquet in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on
November 12,
2014 (AFP Photo/Greg Baker)
|
In November
2014, President Barack Obama said in Beijing that the two sides had
"reached an understanding" on moving the talks forward.
The WTO
said that the deal finalised on Friday has provisions to expand the list of
products covered, with changes possibly needed "to reflect future
technological development."
Lower
prices, more jobs
The WTO
chief claimed the agreement was set to have "a huge impact" by
lowering prices, creating jobs and boosting economic growth worldwide.
For the
EU's Malmstrom, much of the immediate benefit was likely to be felt by smaller
producers.
"This
deal will cut costs for consumers and business – in particular for smaller
firms, which have been hit especially hard by excessive tariffs in the
past," she said.
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