Information Technology Agreement

ITA Symposium: 25 Years of the Information Technology Agreement

Geneva Switzerland

A high-level symposium is being organized by the ITA Committee on 16-17 September 2021 to celebrate 25 years of the Information Technology Agreement.

The symposium will provide an opportunity for ITA participants, leading industry representatives, government officials and parliamentarians to examine a range of important issues related to the ITA and share their perspectives on the future of the Agreement. At its opening session, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the WTO, will deliver her opening remarks, and Ambassador Michael Punke, Vice President of Amazon, will deliver the keynote address.

Thematic discussions, led by over 20 renowned experts, will focus on the following:

  • Session 1: Trade liberalization under the ITA and the evolution of global trade in ICT products
  • Session 2: Combatting the COVID-19 pandemic: the role of ITA products, ICT and digital solutions
  • Session 3: Latest advances in technologies and the ICT Sector
  • Session 4: The role of ICT as an economic development tool
  • Session 5: The future of the ITA

The symposium will be open to WTO Members and Observers, the private sector, academia, international organizations, and journalists. It will take place in hybrid format in Room W. The majority of participants will attend the event via Zoom, while Geneva‑based delegates will also be able to register to participate in the symposium in person, should they prefer to do so.

Two previous WTO ITA symposia were held in 2007 and 2017.

Zoom registration

Registration for physical attendance

Programme

Day One: Thursday, 16 September 2021

Opening Session

Moderator: Ms Katarzyna Stecz, Chairperson of the ITA Committee

10:00 – 10:15

  • Opening Address by Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization

10:15 – 10:30

  • Keynote Address by Ambassador Michael Punke, Vice President of Global Public Policy, Amazon Web Services

Session One: Trade liberalization under the ITA and the evolution of global trade in ICT products

Moderator: Ms Katarzyna Stecz, Chairperson of the ITA Committee

10:30 – 10:45

  • Mr Christophe Degain, Senior Statistician and Mr Eric Ng Shing, Senior Statistician, WTO: “Evolution of ICT Trade over the 25 years”
    Presentation

10:45 – 11:00

  • Mr Jun Nakaya, Chair of Trade Policy Committee, Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA): “Digital Transformation and ICT: Opportunities and Challenges”
    Presentation

11:00 – 11:15

  • Mr Hendrik Abma, Director-General of the European Semiconductor Industry Association (ESIA): “Perspectives from the European Semiconductor Industry on Further Expansion of Semiconductor Trade”
    Presentation

11:15 – 11:30

  • Ms Bing Guan, Director of Institution of Industry Economy, China Centre for Information Industry Development: “The Development of China's Information Technology Industry and Future Challenges”
    Presentation

11:30 – 12:00

  • Q & A

Session Two: Combatting the COVID-19 pandemic: the role of ITA products, ICT and digital solutions

Moderator: Mrs Suja Rishikesh Mavroidis, Director, Market Access Division, WTO

12:00 – 12:15

  • Mr Magnus Nordéus, Chair of DIGITALEUROPE’s Export Control and Customs Working Group and Corporate Head of Trade Compliance, Ericsson Group: “How the ITA has Contributed to Resilience in the COVID‑19 Pandemic, and How to Go Forward
    Presentation

12:15 – 12:30

  • Dr Trevor Gunn, Adjunct Professor Georgetown University and Vice President for International Relations for Medtronic; Founder and Chair of the USA Healthcare Alliance: “Unlocking the Potential of Lifesaving Medical Technologies through the ITA: Removing the Barriers to Access and Responding to the COVID Pandemic”
    Presentation

12:30 – 12:45

  • Mr Daniel Sun, CTO, TCL Industries Holdings Co. Ltd: “Smart Display Extends the Productivity of Working from Home”
    Presentation

12:45 – 13:00

  • Ms Larissa Haas, Scientific Advisor for Innovative Technologies, Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA): “How Switzerland became the 'Home of Drones'”
    Presentation

13:00 – 13:15

  • Q & A

13:15 – 15:00

  • LUNCH BREAK

Session Three: Latest advances in technologies and the ICT sector

Moderator: Ms Uma Muniandy, former Chairperson of the ITA Committee

15:00 – 15:15

  • Ms Karen Bland, Head of Global Trade, Global Trade and Cybersecurity Counsel, HP: “3D Printing: A Vital Technology for Economic Development and Sustainability”
    Presentation

15:15 – 15:30

  • Ms Julia Jasinska, Head of International Relations and Trade Policy in the government relations team of Nokia: “How the ITA is Key in Allowing 5G+ Technologies to Create New Value for Industries in a post-COVID World”
    Presentation

15:30 – 15:45

  • Mr Fredrik Forslund, Vice President, Enterprise & Cloud Erasure Solution at Blancco Technology Group, UK: “The use of Data Protection Technology in an ICT Circular Economy”
    Presentation

15:45 – 16:00

  • Mr Ziyang David Fan, Head of Digital Trade, World Economic Forum (WEF): “TradeTech, the Future of Trade and Implications for the ITA”
    Presentation

16:00 – 16:15

  • Ms Andrée-Ann Audette, Policy Analyst, Telecom Equipment Regulatory Requirements Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED): “Conformity Assessment Procedures for ICT Products in Canada”
    Presentation

16:15 – 16:45

  • Q & A

Day Two: Friday, 17 September 2021

Session Four: The role of ICT as an economic development tool

Moderator: Ms Uma Muniandy, former Chairperson of the ITA Committee

10:00 – 10:15

  • Mr Stephen Su, Vice President and General Director, Industry, Science and Technology, International Strategic Centre (ISTI) of Industrial Technology Research Institute, Chinese Taipei: “Contribution by the Semiconductor Industry in Energy Efficiency and Decarbonization”
    Presentation

10:15 – 10:30

  • Mr Santisouk Phounesavath, Deputy Director-General, Department of Foreign Trade Policy, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Lao PDR: “Lao PDR's Perspective on Information Technology Agreement Accession”
    Presentation

10:30 – 10:45

  • Mr Saurabh Gaur, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India. “Developments in Information and Communications Technology (ICT)”
    Presentation

10:45 – 11:00

  • Mr Torbjörn Fredriksson, Chief of ICT Policy Section, Division of Technology and Logistics. UNCTAD: “Recent Trends in ICT Goods Trade and Digital Developments”
    Presentation

11:00 – 11:30

  • Q & A

Session Five: The future of the ITA

Moderator: Ms Katarzyna Stecz, Chairperson of the ITA Committee

11:30 – 11:45

  • Mr Stephen Ezell, Vice President Global Innovation Policy, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and Mr John Neuffer, President and CEO of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA): “How a Third ITA Expansion Would Benefit Developed and Developing Nations Alike While Advancing Climate, Health, and Sustainability Goals”
    Presentation
    Presentation

11:45 – 12:00

  • Mr Peter Proebster, Senior Director, Infineon Technologies, speaking on behalf of World Semiconductor Council (WSC): “How an ITA-3 Can Facilitate a Further Expansion of Trade in Semiconductors and Related Downstream Products, and As Such Help Address Global Challenges around Health, Economic Recovery, Sustainability, Climate and Secure Connectivity”

12:00 – 12:15

  • Ms Shige Zhang, Global Trade and Corporate Strategy Expert, Huawei Technologies: “Moving Forward to a Sustainable Digital Trade in the post‑COVID Era”

12:15 – 12:30

  • Rt. Hon. Philip Dunne MP, Chair of the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee, United Kingdom: “Promoting Better, Greener, and Greater Trade in ICT Goods”
    Presentation

12:45 – 13:00

  • Q & A

13:00 – 13:10

  • Concluding remarks by Ms Anabel González, Deputy Director-General of the WTO.

Operational details

The Symposium will be open to WTO Members and Observers, the private sector, academia, international organizations, and journalists.

Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in the three official WTO languages (English, French, and Spanish).

Registration via the WTO website (www.wto.org) is mandatory in order to participate in the Symposium.

Copies of the presentations will be made available on the WTO website after the Symposium, subject to speaker authorization.

The Symposium will be followed by a formal meeting of the ITA Committee at 15:00 on 17 September, which will be open only to WTO Member Government representatives and other international organizations enjoying observer status.

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