INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AGREEMENT: WORKSHOP ON NON-TARIFF BARRIERS
WTO ITA Workshop on Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) Affecting Trade in IT Products
On 7 May 2015, the WTO Committee of Participants on the Expansion of Trade in Information Technology Products organized a Workshop on NTBs Affecting Trade in IT products.
The Workshop was held at the Centre William Rappard, WTO Headquarters, in Geneva, Switzerland.
Tackling NTBs on IT products is an important component of the Agreement. The challenge is to ensure participants can achieve their legitimate public policy objectives, such as protecting their consumers and the environment, in a manner that it is not more trade restrictive than necessary and that facilitates trade in IT products.
The Workshop was provided an opportunity for the private sector to (1) share their experience with trade policy makers on NTBs affecting trade in IT products, and (2) express their views on possible approaches to address NTBs in order to facilitate market access for IT products.
The Workshop was open to all WTO Members and Observers, the private sector, IT industry representatives, academic experts in IT technologies, international intergovernmental organizations, NGOs, and journalists. The workshop was facilitated by Mr. Frédéric Payot (Switzerland), Chairman of the ITA Committee.
> Factual report by the chairman under his own responsibility
10:00 |
Opening Remarks: Mr Xiaozhun YI, Deputy Director-General of the WTO
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| SESSION I: | REGULATORY MEASURES AND THEIR IMPACT: AN OVERVIEW OF NTBs IN THE ICT SECTOR |
10:15 |
What do NTBs and Mutual Recognition Agreements/Arrangements (MRAs) mean to the ICT industry? Dr Herman CHEN, General Manager of CGC Inc., Vice President of HTC, Chinese Taipei
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10:30 |
Non-Tariff Barriers faced by ITA small developing Members Mr Homero BOSCH, Sales Manager, BYTE, Guatemala
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10:45 |
NTBs faced by SMEs in developing countries Mr Jay CHAVEZ, Ionics, Philippines
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11:00 |
Forced Localization Measures Mr Michikazu CHIHARA, JEITA, Japan
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11:15 |
Reviewing burden on some NTBs Ms Julia JASINSKA, Head of Trade Policy and Regulatory Affairs, Nokia, EU office |
| SESSION II: | EXAMPLES OF CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT SCHEMES |
12:00 |
Overview of relevant discussion on Conformity Assessment Procedures in the ICT sector — the perspective of the WTO TBT Committee Mr Lauro LOCKS, WTO Secretariat
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12:15 |
Understanding NTBs for firms: the experience of a conformity assessment body Mr Hans-Peter LESERF, Electrosuisse, Switzerland
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12:30 |
China's Conformity Assessment Procedures Mr Liewen LU, CEPREI Certification Body, China
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12:45 |
Conformity Assessment: Perspective from Industry Mr Josh ROSENBERG, Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), United States |
SESSION III: |
MEETING THE CHALLENGES OF NTBs IN THE ICT SECTOR |
15:00 |
Experiences with Supplier's Declaration of Conformity (SDoC) and e-labelling
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| 15:20 | E-Labelling
> Presentations |
| 15:40 | Energy Efficiency
> Presentations |
| 16:00 | How regulators in Asia Pacific leverage the MRAs and accreditation to reduce NTBs on ICT products Mr Nigel JOU, Chair of APLAC, CEO of TAF Mr Roger SHENG, Chair of APEC TEL MRATF, Chief of TAF, Chinese Taipei
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| SESSION IV: | CONCLUDING REMARKS AND OPEN DISCUSSION |
| 17:00 | Summaries and highlights of sessions I, II and III. To hear further views and recommendations from the ICT industry representatives on possible approaches to address NTBs based on presentations and discussions in Sessions I, II and III. Mr Per DÖFNÄS, Director for Technical Regulations, Government & Industry Relations, Ericsson, Sweden Mr Jay CHAVEZ, Ionics, Philippines Mr Josh ROSENBERG, Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), United States |
