Agreement on the expansion of trade in information technology products (ITA)

The European Parliament adopted by 529 votes to 110, with 37 abstentions a legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of an agreement in the form of the Declaration on the Expansion of Trade in Information Technology Products (ITA).

In line with the recommendation made by Committee on International Trade, the European Parliament gave its consent to the conclusion of the Agreement.

To recall, the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) was concluded at the Singapore Ministerial Conference in December 1996 and entered into force in 1997. While only 29 WTO Member States initially concluded the agreement, ITA today counts 82 participants.

In May 2012, several countries proposed to expand the product coverage of the ITA. On 24 July 2015, the text of the "Declaration on the Expansion of Trade on Information Technology Products" was agreed, with a view to bind and eliminate customs duties on an additional list of 201 IT products.

The objective of the ITA expansion is to eliminate duties on IT goods not included in the original ITA.