ITA Expansion Talks Continue In Geneva, More Work On Lists Next Week

摘要

The U.S. mission in Geneva next week is hosting discussions by a small group of World Trade Organization members to try to narrow their differences on what kinds of products to include in an expanded Information Technology Agreement (ITA), based on draft lists that nine of 25 members tabled late last month. The meetings, which are set for July 18-19, are part of an ongoing dialogue among this small group of WTO members on ITA expansion. The last such gathering was held at the end of June at the mission of the European Union, and marked the first time WTO members exchanged "wish lists" of items they would like the ITA to coyer. Members are not yet considering these talks to be formal negotiations, and sources stressed that that phase will come later. But so far, members participating in the talks already have differing views about the scope of products that an expanded ITA should cover.