Bruselas, Bélgica, 4 de noviembre del 2012.- En la reunión del Comité del Acuerdo sobre
Tecnología de la Información (ATI) celebrada el 1º de noviembre de 2012, Corea
informó de que se habían producido algunos avances en los debates técnicos que
había organizado durante la semana sobre la ampliación de los productos
actualmente comprendidos en el ATI. Dijo que los 17 Miembros participantes iban
a celebrar debates más sustanciales y que a mediados de diciembre se
distribuiría una revisión de la lista refundida de productos propuestos para su
inclusión en la ampliación del ATI.
(de momento sólo en
inglés)
The
European Union said a lot of work has been done in this area, and that
participating delegations are moving to a new phase of more bilateral meetings
to resolve differences. The United States urged participating delegations to
closely look at the next version of the product list, and be prepared to
negotiate in January 2013. Japan noted that the number of participants has
risen from six to the current 17 (counting the EU as one), and urged other
members to participate. Costa Rica
expressed its full support for these discussions.
Nicaragua
expressed reservation in expanding product coverage, adding this matter is
still being analysed in the capital. El Salvador said it is still holding
internal consultations on this issue. India placed on record its serious
reservations on the initiative to expand the ITA product coverage. It said that
in recent consultations, its stakeholders have pointed to problems regarding
relevance of the proposed products, their multiple uses, and possible
difficulties in processing at customs. India recalled that at the ITA Symposium
earlier this year, it noted that its manufacturing activity dipped because of
the ITA.
Norway
reported on discussions by a group of 15 members on how to reduce non-tariff
measures (NTMs) on IT products. It said that substantial work remains before
they could produce a text. The EU said that with tariffs at zero, only NTMs
remain as obstacles to IT trade. It stressed that its focus is not on creating
obligations but rather on achieving self-commitments in this area based on past
work of the Committee. Switzerland, the United States and Japan expressed
support for this initiative.
New
participants
Regarding
new participants, the Chair noted that the Russian Federation submitted its ITA
schedule to the Committee on 1 August 2012, and that he transmitted comments he
received from participants to the Russian Federation on 16 August 2012.
Russia
reported that internal work continues regarding comments by participants on its
ITA schedule.
The United
States said that many members regarded Russia’s commitment to join the ITA as
an important part of the country’s accession package. It had made comments on
Russia’s schedule regarding the need to make technical changes that would
ensure full coverage of ITA products. The European Union and Japan echoed the
US view.
On
Tajikistan, the Chair recalled that its ITA schedule was circulated last
September and that one delegation had made a technical comment. He said that
once this is resolved, Tajikistan would become an ITA participant when it
accedes to the WTO.
On another
issue, the Chair, Mr Aaron Fowler (Canada), asked the Committee to make a final
attempt at the next meeting to adopt a draft decision resolving a number of divergences in classifying IT
products, as proposed by a group of customs classification experts and
delegates in 2000.
Fuente: OMC