Cuestiones abarcadas por los Comités y Acuerdos de la OMC
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYMPOSIUM

WTO Information Technology Symposium

The Symposium was a full-day session divided into four issue-oriented panels:

  • Overview of the IT industry, technological advances/trends, innovative business applications
  • Contribution of IT to economic growth and development and the role of trade in the mutual reinforcement of global and national IT policies
  • Practical problems encountered in IT trade (including the possibility of presenting case studies, e.g. import licensing) and the broader effects of NTMs
  • The implications of current approaches to standards making and conformity assessment (review developments in international standards and other relevant bodies).

>Chairman's Summary of the IT Symposium Volver al principio

WTO Information Technology Symposium

1. Share information about the dynamism of IT and its future: recent R&D development, technology trends and anticipated products/services

2. Explain the role of IT in promoting economic growth and development and IT's expanding contribution to the infrastructure for a global information economy.

3. Highlight the value of the application of IT, drawing on examples from developed and developing countries:

- For business competitiveness for large and small business;
- For government, and
- Users.

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Organizational matters 

The Director in Charge will open the symposium with introductory remarks. The Symposium will be chaired by Mr. Heinz Opelz, Director, Market Access Division. There will be four issue-oriented panel sessions on the subjects outlined by participants.

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Program: 

Morning Session
9:00 Introduction: Director in Charge
9:15

I. Overview of the IT industry, technological advances/trends, innovative business applications Back to top

 

"International Trade in IT Products"

Mr. Patrick Low (WTO Secretariat)
Director, Economic Research and Analysis
WTO
Geneva, Switzerland

"The Philippine IT Plan: Prospects and Problems"

Mr. Claro Parlade
Senior Partner
Benitez Parlade Africa Herrera Parlade & Panga Law Offices
Makati City, Philippines

"Contribution of IT Industry to Economic Development – An Israeli Perspective"

Mr. Hanan Achsaf
President
Motorola Israel
Tel Aviv, Israel

"Production of Digital Telecommunications Systems in the Czech Republic"

Presentation

Mr. Ivan Rícar
Director General
TTC TESLA TELECOMUNIKACE
Prague, Czech Republic

"Creation of New Industry by Digital Conversions"

Mr. Takashi Kubota
Director & Senior Chief Engineer
Corporate Technology, Digital Media
Hitachi, Ltd.

--followed by a general discussion

11:00

II. Contribution of IT to economic growth and development and the role of trade in the mutual reinforcement of global and national IT policies Back to top

 

"ICT Indicators Over the Period of the 90s".

Mr. Linnar Viik
Director of Product Development and Marketing
Levicom Broadband
Tallinn, Estonia

"The Effects of Trade Liberalization of IT Products in the Development of Software and Hi-Tech Industries: A Developing Country's Experience"

Mr. Alejandro Montalvo
President of Costa Rican Chamber of Software Developers
Costa Rica


"
The Death of the Productivity Paradox: The Explosive Impact of IT on the US Economy".

Mr. Leslie Simon
Public Policy Scholar
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Washington, DC, USA

"The Multimedia Super Corridor Project - A Model for Fostering Economic Growth and Development Using IT"

Mr. Mohd. Salleh Hj. Masduki
Vice President
Flagship Coordination
Multimedia Development Corporation
Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

"From an Off-line to an On-line Society"

Mr. Torbjörn Ihre
Director
Ericsson European Affairs Office
Brussels, Belgium

--followed by a general discussion

13:00-14:15 Lunch break
Afternoon Session
14:15

III. Practical problems encountered in IT trade (including the possibility of presenting case studies, e.g. import licensing) and the broader effects of NTMs Back to top

 

Non-Tariff Trade Barriers in IT Trade

Mr. Dewang Mehta
Executive Director
NASSCOM
New Delhi, India

"Import Licensing for Information Technology Products"

Mr. David McGuire
Senior Manager, International Trade Team
Nortel Networks
Canada

"Trading Barriers and Proposed Solutions of IT Trade"

Mr. Miin Wu
President
Macronix International Co., Ltd.
Chinese Taipei

"Redundant Testing and Certification as Impediments to Economic Development"

Mr. William Maxwell
International Trade Policy Manager
Hewlett Packard Company
USA

"Suppliers' Declaration of Conformity, Certification & Standardisation"

Mr. Michel de Vecchis
Director, Standardization
Telecom Product Division – Cables & Components Sector Alcatel
France

--followed by a general discussion

16:00

IV. The implications of current approaches to standards making and conformity assessment (review developments in international standards and other relevant bodies). Back to top

 

"IEC and Information Technology"

Mr. Jack Sheldon
Technical Manager
International Electrotechnical Commission
Geneva, Switzerland

"Supplier Declarations of Conformity: A Case-study in Implementation".

Dr. James Galloway
Director, Technical and Regulatory of the Australian Electrical and Electronic
Manufacturers Association (AEEMA)
Australia

"Green Paper on Global Product Approval System for the Future"

Mr. Peter Deichmann
Technical Relations Manager EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa)
IBM,
Germany

"Electrical Safety and Information Technology Products"

Presentation

Mr. Jean-Louis Robert
Régie de batiment
Government of Quebec
Direction de la normalization
and
Member of the Canadian Advisory Council on Electrical Safety
Canada

--followed by a general discussion

Other papers submitted and circulated Volver al principio

> Facilitating Access to Information Technology through Supplier's -
Declaration of Conformity

John Sullivan Wilson, Vice President, Technology Policy, Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) Washington, D.C.

> ECTEL and EUROBIT Green Paper on a Global Product Approval System for the Future

> Trade in Information Technology Products and the WTO Agreements
Note: The complete text of the publication can be obtained form the International Trade Centre, telephone: 41 22 730 02 90, fax: 41 22 730 05 78, or e-mail:
[email protected]