Global Industry Letter to China Urges for ITA Expansion

USCIB, along with numerous business associations and companies from around the world, signed a letter to Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang urging for expanded product coverage of the Information Technology Agreement (ITA).

What would have been the final round of ITA expansion talks were suspended in Geneva the week before due to China’s “disproportionately large product sensitivities list” that was “more than twice as long as any other country’s sensitivities list and included a request for the removal of roughly 100 product lines from the negotiating table,” the letter remarked. This has become the main obstacle in obtaining an ambitious ITA expansion outcome this year, which would, by one estimate, add $190 billion to global GDP annually.

The letter states that “China stands to be one of the largest beneficiaries of an expanded ITA” because of its considerable presence in the global tech industry, boosting its economy and innovation capacity. The letter thus urges China to significantly reduce the size of its sensitivities list so that ITA talks can reach a conclusion and further increase economic growth, competitiveness, and innovation around the world.

Click here to read the global industry statement supporting ITA expansion, signed by 81 associations from 31 economies and regions around the world.

Staff contacts: Rob Mulligan and Justine Badimon

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

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Staff Contact:   Alice Slayton Clark

Senior VP, Trade, Investment, and Digital Policy
Tel: 202.682.0051

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