China Stands Firm In Resisting Calls To Shorten Phaseouts Under ITA Deal

摘要

China is continuing to resist calls by trading partners to shorten its proposed tariff phaseouts for products covered by the new Information Technology Agreement (ITA), ahead of a Friday (Oct. 30) deadline for all participating members to submit their final tariff schedules. According to Geneva sources, China has shown little willingness to back off its demands for tariff phaseouts of five or seven years for roughly 90 items, representing a little less than half of the total 201 products covered by the expanded agreement. Although China is seeking phaseouts of five years or more on the largest number of items compared to other trading partners, South Korea and Thailand are continuing to seek seven-year phaseouts on several dozen items. China is seeking seven-year phaseouts on roughly 20 items, which include certain light emitting diodes (LEDs), machine tools, medical devices and car radios. It is also insisting on five-year phaseouts on another roughly 70 items, including multi-component integrated circuits, or MCOs, an advanced type of semiconductor. This is a major priority item for the United States.