[governance] "Information Technology Agreement" being negotiated

Fri Sep 20 09:38:15 EDT 2013

And here some background on this from a friend who lives in Geneva:

"On Fri, Sep 20, 2013 at 9:32 AM, Thiru Balasubramaniam <
suryavamsha75 at gmail.com> wrote:

> From my limited understanding of this process, I gather that USTR and many
> technology companies are pursuing an expanded ITA and they want this to be
> concluded before/during the Bali Ministerial.
>
> Bridges Weekly and the WSJ have reported on this.
>
> The last I heard, talks were suspended in the summer because China and
> some other countries did not agree to the terms. I will try to find out
> from my USTR contacts what the latest state of play is.
>
> http://ictsd.org/i/news/bridgesweekly/172659/
>
> <SNIP>
>
> The negotiations in Geneva have been put on hold due to differences
> between China and many of the WTO members involved, Washington says. The
> group, which includes the US and EU, has been working to develop a list of
> products to add to the agreement for over a year, and had hoped to complete
> a final list this month. (See Bridges Weekly, 6 June 2013)
>
> “The United States is extremely disappointed that it became necessary
> today to suspend negotiations to expand the Information Technology
> Agreement,” US Trade Representative Michael Froman said in a statement.
> “Unfortunately, a diverse group of members participating in the
> negotiations determined that China’s current position makes progress
> impossible at this stage.”
>
> Geneva sources speaking to Bridges in recent weeks had noted that
> Beijing’s sensitivities regarding certain product lines could prove
> difficult to resolve as the group tries to whittle down its draft list to a
> consolidated final version.
>
> In an e-mailed statement later on Wednesday, China stressed that it has
> taken a “very serious attitude” toward the ITA talks.
>
> “We share the same goal with the rest of the participants to conclude the
> negotiations before the Ninth Ministerial Conference in December,” China
> said. “After intensive and difficult domestic consultations, China has
> added its support to 150 tariff lines, or two thirds of the proposed
> products, which is a concrete contribution to the negotiations.”
>
> Expressing “deep regret” for the decision of other members to put the
> talks on hold, Beijing said that resuming the talks “should not be
> conditioned upon China’s supporting its list of sensitive products.”
>
> However, Washington has said that it is “hopeful” that Beijing will take
> into account the concerns of its negotiating partners, and urged the Asian
> country to “revise its position in a way that will allow the prompt
> resumption of the negotiations.”
>
> *Bali in the background*
>
> The ITA is a plurilateral pact under the aegis of the WTO that eliminates
> tariffs on trade in information and communication technology (ICT)
> products. Forty-nine of the WTO’s 159 members have signed onto the ITA, if
> counting the EU as one member, though the benefits extend to the full WTO
> membership. Of these 49, over 20 are currently involved in the expansion
> talks.
> - See more at:
> http://ictsd.org/i/news/bridgesweekly/172659/#sthash.bYvOiJB2.dpuf"
>
>
>
>

On Fri, Sep 20, 2013 at 2:58 AM, parminder <parminder at itforchange.net>wrote:

>
> An important civil society initiative that is doing the rounds. Also
> enclosed two documents on Information Technology Agreement (ITA) - 2  .....
>
> This shows that there is more to globalisation and people's rights and
> livelihoods than what normally appears to the starry eyed Internet-ists.
> Integration may generally be good, however, integration on what and whose
> terms is always the key question.... And that is the democratic global
> governance question, that many in the IG space want to bypass in preference
> to a kind of techno determinism, ..
>
> Also gives a pointer to civil society's role. I dont say that trade
> protectionism is necessarily good, in all situations and at all times....
> But quite often trade agreements have very strong impact on people's
> livelihoods and other rights... Those global companies who would like to
> promote unrestrained global trade have their interests already well
> represented. The question is, who will represent the interests of the
> ordinary people, those who cant be present in the global policy spaces....
> That role falls to civil society. And it is easy to see that although not
> always, quite (very?) often these interests may not be the same as that of
> the big business. This is the reason for civil society to keep a respectful
> distance from big business lobbyists, at least in its internal working.
>
> parminder
>
> -------- Original Message --------  Subject: {Forum Against FTAs} Request
> for your endorsement against FTA - "Information Technology Agreement"  Date:
> Fri, 20 Sep 2013 12:02:11 +0530  From: Mani Candan <manicandan at gmail.com><manicandan at gmail.com>  To:
> forum-against-ftas at googlegroups.com, peoplesaarc at yahoogroups.com
>
> Dear All
>
>  Please sign on to this important letter on proposed WTO agreement on
> Information Technology Goods. For details see the message below. Thank you.
>
>  Regards
> G.Manicandan
>
>
>  ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>  From: Deborah James <djames at cepr.net>
> Date: Fri, Sep 20, 2013 at 5:23 AM
> Subject: Re: Request for your endorsement against FTA - "Information
> Technology Agreement"
> To: Deborah James <djames at cepr.net>
>
>
>   Dear Friends,
>    Please see this note below – requesting endorsements for an important
> letter by our friends at ITUC (developed together with OWINFS) against yet
> another proposed FTA in the WTO – this time on "Information Technology
> Goods" aka "kiss your infant industry and jobs creation programs goodbye!"
> Please send organizational endorsement with country to Georgios Altintzis
> at georgios.altintzis at ituc-csi.org by September 23rd. We really need to
> make a strong showing to governments on this one soon! It has been endorsed
> by IndustriALL, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the Arab
> NGO Network for Development (ANND), UNI Global Union, International Union
> of Food workers (IUF-UITA-IUL), and more (see attached) but now we need
> YOU!
>
>  Thank you!
>
>   - Deborah, Our World Is Not for Sale (OWINFS)
>
> ------------------------------------------
>
> Dear colleagues,
>
> Estimados compañeros y compañeras, (español abajo)
>
> Chers/chères camarades, (français ci-dessous)
>
>
>
> With very little public knowledge, governments are negotiating to expand
> the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) of the WTO, which commits
> countries to assess zero tariffs on myriad manufactured products. We are
> writing to express our deep concern because ITA-II will reduce policy space
> for governments to protect infant industries and jobs, and is not a
> solution to the global jobs crisis. In light of the stagnation of the Doha
> Round in the WTO, developed countries are seeking to achieve their agenda
> (getting new market access for their corporations) without having to make
> concessions to developing countries that would make the global trading
> system more fair.
>
>
>
> *Join our sign-on letter* to governments that participate in the
> expansion of the ITA-II, urging them to be cautious and prudent when
> negotiating on issues that concern industrial development, policy space,
> technology transfer, technical standards, market access and security.
>
>
>
> The sign-on was developed with Our World Is Not For Sale Network (OWINFS),
> the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the Global Union
> ‘IndustriALL’ and the Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND).
>
>
>
> *Please send your organisational endorsement*, with country (or
> countries) of your group, to Georgios Altintzis at
> georgios.altintzis at ituc-csi.org. The deadline for signing on the letter
> is September 23, so that it can be delivered before the next round of
> negotiations. The attached letters are in English, Arabic, Spanish, and
> French versions; we urge you to share this call with your networks,
> especially as we are on a tight deadline.
>
>
>
> All the best,
>
> Saludos solidarios,
>
> Meilleures salutations
>
> Yorgos Altintzis, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
>
>
>
> -------------------
>
>
>
> Sin apenas informar a la opinión pública, los gobiernos están negociando
> la ampliación del Acuerdo sobre Tecnología de la Información (ATI) de la
> OMC, que comprometería a los países a aplicar derechos arancelarios nulos a
> una gran cantidad de productos manufacturados. Nos expresamos nuestra seria
> preocupación, en particular, porque ATI-II reducirá el espacio político de
> que disponen los gobiernos para proteger sus industrias nacientes y
> empleos, y no ofrece una solución a la crisis mundial del empleo. Ante el
> estancamiento de la Ronda de Doha en la OMC, los países desarrollados están
> buscando la manera de hacer avanzar sus intereses (tener acceso a nuevos
> mercados para sus empresas), sin tener que hacer concesiones a los países
> en desarrollo, concesiones que harían que el sistema mundial del comercio
> fuera más justo.
>
>
>
> *Añadan su firma a una carta *que dirigiremos a los gobiernos que
> participan en la ampliación del ATI-II, instándolos a actuar con la máxima
> prudencia al negociar sobre cuestiones relativas al desarrollo industrial,
> espacio político, transferencia de tecnología, normas técnicas, acceso a
> los mercados y seguridad.
>
>
>
> Esta carta fue elaborada conjuntamente por la Red ‘Nuestro Mundo No Está
> en Venta’, la Confederación Sindical Internacional (CSI),  el Sindicato
> Mundial  ‘IndustriALL’ y la Red de ONG Árabes para el Desarrollo (ANND).
>
>
>
> *Les rogamos confirmen el apoyo de su organización*, mencionando el país
> (o países) de su grupo a Georgios Altintzis (
> georgios.altintzis at ituc-csi.org).  El plazo para enviar la carta firmada
> es el 23 de septiembre, a fin de que pueda entregarse antes de la próxima
> ronda de negociaciones.  Les enviamos en anexo las cartas en ingles, árabe,
> español y francés.  Asimismo les rogamos que difundan este llamado entre
> todas sus redes rápidamente, ya que el tiempo apremia.
>
>
>
> ------------------
>
>
>
> N’informant pas le publique, les gouvernements négocient l’élargissement
> de l’Accord sur les technologies de l’information (ATI) de l’OMC, qui
> engagerait les pays à ramener à zéro les droits de douane pour la
> fabrication d’une multitude de produits. Nous vous faisons part de notre
> vive inquiétude, notamment parce que l’Accord réduira l’espace politique
> dont disposent les gouvernements pour protéger leurs industries naissantes
> et les emplois et qu’il n’offre pas de solution à la crise de l’emploi
> mondiale. Compte tenu de la stagnation du cycle de Doha à l’OMC, les pays
> développés cherchent à réaliser leur programme (obtenir un accès à des
> nouveaux marchés pour leurs entreprises) sans devoir faire de concessions
> aux pays en développement, qui rendraient le système mondial du commerce
> plus équitable.
>
>
>
> Nous vous invitons *à signer la lettre* que nous adresserons aux
> gouvernements participant à l’élargissement de l’ATI, les exhortant à agir
> avec prudence et précaution dans le cadre de la négociation des questions
> concernant le développement industriel, l’espace politique, le transfert de
> technologie, les normes techniques, l’accès aux marchés et la sécurité.
>
>
>
> Cette lettre a été élaborée conjointement avec le réseau « Notre monde
> n’est pas à vendre » (OWINFS), la Confédération syndicale internationale
> (CSI), la fédération syndicale internationale IndustriALL et le Réseau
> d’ONG arabes pour le développement (ANND).
>
>
>
> Nous vous prions de bien vouloir confirmer le soutien de votre
> organisation, en indiquant le pays (ou les pays) de votre groupe à Georgios
> Altintzis (georgios.altintzis at ituc-csi.org). Le délai pour envoyer la
> lettre signée est le 23 septembre, afin qu’elle puisse être remise avant le
> prochain cycle de négociations. Nous vous annexons la lettre en anglais, en
> arabe, en espagnol et en français. Nous vous exhortons également à diffuser
> rapidement cet appel à vos réseaux, compte tenu du très court délai.
>
>
>
>   Yorgos Altintzís
>
> Economic & Social Policy
>
> ITUC International Trade Union Confederation
>
> ΔΣΣ Διεθνής Συνομοσπονδία Συνδικάτων
>
>
>
>   --
>
>   Deborah James
> Our World Is Not For Sale (OWINFS) network
>
>  Director of International Programs
> Center for Economic and Policy Research
> 1611 Connecticut Ave NW, Suite 400 Washington DC 20009
> +1.202.293.5380 x111
> djames at cepr.net
> www.cepr.net
>
>
>
>
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-- 
*Carolina Rossini*
*Project Director, Latin America Resource Center*
Open Technology Institute
*New America Foundation*
//
http://carolinarossini.net/
+ 1 6176979389
*carolina.rossini at gmail.com*
skype: carolrossini
@carolinarossini
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