[governance] "Information Technology Agreement" being negotiated
parminder
parminder at itforchange.net
Fri Sep 20 09:53:44 EDT 2013
Thanks, Carolina...
Countries like Brazil and South Africa were never members of ITA -1
(International Technology Agreement -1 under WTO). India did sign it,
and there is a great amount of internal consternation lately that it
altogetherkilled India's IT manufacturing base. India has recently
announced a policy to leverage some exception clauses of ITA -1 - like
of public procurement and some security considerations, to provide
preferential market access to domestic manufacturers. Interestingly, it
seems that India has refused to participate in the ITA round 2 being
proposed/ negotiated....
parminder
On Friday 20 September 2013 07:08 PM, Carolina Rossini wrote:
> 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 <mailto: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
> <mailto: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>
> <mailto:manicandan at gmail.com>
> To: forum-against-ftas at googlegroups.com
> <mailto:forum-against-ftas at googlegroups.com>,
> peoplesaarc at yahoogroups.com <mailto: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 <mailto: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 <mailto: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
> <mailto: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
> <mailto: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
> <mailto: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
> <mailto: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 <tel:%2B1.202.293.5380%20x111>
> djames at cepr.net <mailto:djames at cepr.net>
> www.cepr.net <http://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 <mailto:carolina.rossini at gmail.com>*
> skype: carolrossini
> @carolinarossini
>
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