INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Symposium on the 20th Anniversary of the Information Technology Agreement
The Chairperson of the ITA Committee, Ms Zsofia Tvarusko, will serve as facilitator.
As the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) turns 20, WTO members will look back at the trade liberalization and the evolution of global trade in ICT products and their impact on developing countries. The Symposium on the 20th Anniversary of the Information Technology Agreement will also discuss how ICTs as a development tool present opportunities and challenges for developing countries. Please see the program below.
Purpose
To have an overview of the trade liberalization under the ITA and the evolution
of global trade in ICT products over the past 20 years;
To examine how ICT, as a development tool, can help developing countries and
SMEs in promoting connectivity and achieving sustainable development goals;
and can enable diversification, technology upgrading, and innovation;
To discuss what is next for the ITA and the ICT sector.
On this occasion, a new WTO publication to mark the 20th Anniversary
of the Information Technology Agreement will be launched. The Symposium also serves as an opportunity to help capacity building on ITA for developing Members and LDCs.
Programme
Day one Tuesday, 27 June 2017
Morning Session
Welcome Address and launching of the WTO publication:
10.00Mr Roberto Azevêdo
Director General of the WTO
Speech
Keynote Address:
Mr James Kenneth Lockett
Vice President, Head of Trade Facilitation and Market Access, Huawei
Keynote Address:
Mr John Neuffer
President and CEO, Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA)
Presentation
Keynote Address:
Ambassador Cedeño Molinari
Costa Rica
Trade liberalization under the ITA and evolution of global trade in ICT products over the past 20 years
10:45 - OverviewMr Andreas Maurer
Economic Research and Statistics Division, WTO
Presentation
How ICT, as a development tool, can help developing countries and SMEs in promoting connectivity and achieving sustainable development goals; and can enable diversification, technology upgrading, and innovation
11:00 - OverviewHow ICT as a development tool can help developing countries and SMEs in promoting connectivity and achieving sustainable development goals
Mr Pierre Sauvé
Senior Trade Specialist, World Bank Group
Presentation
Ms. Vanessa Gray
Head of Division for LDCs, SIDS and Emergency Telecommunications, ITU
Presentation
Evidence based presentations: ICT as a development tool, benefits, opportunities and challenges to developing countries
Academic views
Mr Stephen Ezell
Vice President of Global Innovation Policy, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF)
Presentation
The experience of developing countries
Mr Gideon Mwangi
Senior Economist, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kenya
Presentation
Mr Kanchana Thudugala
Director Special Projects, ICT Agency of Sri Lanka
Presentation
The experience of developing ITA Participants
Mr Danilo Lachica
President of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines (SEIPI)
Presentation
Mr Sudhir Kumar Marwaha
Director, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, India
Presentation
Mr Suraj Ramgolam
Programme Manager, Ministry of Technology, Communication and Innovation, Mauritius
Presentation
Panel discussion and Q&A
Dr Trevor Gunn
Vice President of International Relations, Medtronic
Presentation
Ms Nanjira Sambuli
Digital Equality Advocacy Manager, World Wide Web Foundation
Mr Ulf Pehrsson
Vice President, Government & Industry Relations, Ericsson
Presentation
13:30–15:00 Lunch Break
Afternoon sessionHow ICT, as a development tool can enable diversification, technology upgrading, and innovation in particular in the developing world
15:00 - OverviewMr Torbjörn Fredriksson
Chief, ICT Analysis Section, UNCTAD
Presentation
Mr Martin Labbé
Division of Enterprises and Institutions, Trade and Investment Support Institutions, ITC
Presentation
Evidence based presentations: ICT as a development tool, benefits, opportunities and challenges to SMEs
Ms Katia Cerwin
Co-Creator and Director, Funsepa/Programa Valentina, Guatemala
Presentation
Ms Sonia Ozoux
eServices Manager, FRCI
Presentation
Mr Csaba Faix
Head of Communications, Prezi
Presentation
16:00 - Q&A
ITA and the ICT sector: What's next?
Existing challenges and opportunities: non tariff barriers to trade in information technology products
16:15Ms Martina Francesca Ferracane
Research Associate, European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE)
Mr Michikazu Chihara
Chairperson of the Trade Policy Committee, Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA)
Presentation
Mr Peter Kelleher
Product Regulatory Engineer, Dell
Presentation
Panel discussions and Q&A
Mr Josh Rosenberg
Director of Global Policy, Information Technology Industry Council (ITI)
Presentation
Mr Jay Chavez
Vice President Operations, Ionics Philippines
Mr Pietro di Fiore
Chairman Market Access Group, Digitaleurope
Presentation
Mr Gilles Thonet
Head of ICT Standards Coordination, International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
Presentation
18:15 Cocktail Reception for all participants sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Hungary
Day two Wednesday, 28 June 2017
Morning Session
ITA and the ICT sector: What's next? (cont’d)
10:30Existing challenges and opportunities (cont'd)
Mr Marc Vancoppenolle
Global Head of Government Relations, Nokia
Presentation
Mr Pascal Dorel
Senior Manager EMEAR region, Global Customs and Trade, Cisco
Presentation
Mr Doug Johnson
Vice President of Technology Policy, Consumer Technology Association (CTA)
Presentation
Future challenges and opportunities: further expansion of trade in ICT products
Mr Ganesh Kumar Bangah
Deputy Chairman, National ICT Association of Malaysia (PIKOM)
Presentation
Ms To Thi Thu Huong
Deputy Director General, Ministry of Information and Communications of Vietnam
Presentation
Mr Raymond Pao
Vice President, VR New Technology, HTC
Presentation
Panel discussions and Q&A
Mr Yoichi Otabe
Special Advisor of Trade Policy and International Cooperation Board, JEITA
Mr Mario Palacios
Global Director of Export and Import Policy, Intel Corporation
Presentation
Mr Hendrik Abma
Director General, European Semiconductor Industry Association
Presentation
Mr Carlos Halasz
Customs Compliance Officer, HP, Inc.
Presentation
Closing session
12:45
The facilitator will provide a summary of the Symposium. Participants will then have an opportunity for final discussion and to provide any last comments and feedback.
13:00 - End of SymposiumThe Symposium will be followed at 15:30 on day two by a formal meeting of the ITA Committee, which will be open only to WTO Member Government representatives and other international intergovernmental organizations enjoying observer status.
AudioOperational details:
- The Symposium will be held in Room W, Centre William Rappard, WTO, Geneva, Switzerland;
- The Symposium is open to all WTO Members and Observers, to private sector IT industry representatives, to academic experts in IT technologies, to international intergovernmental organizations, to NGOs and journalists, and to the public;
- Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in the three official WTO languages (English, French, and Spanish);
- Registration via the WTO website is mandatory in order to gain access to the WTO building and to facilitate seating arrangements, excepting those already in possession of a WTO badge
- Copies of the presentations will be made available on the WTO website after the Symposium, subject to speaker authorization.