[kictanet] Fwd: WTO ITA Expansion Talks end in dissapointment in Geneva

[waudo siganga]

Hi Hussein - I read in the papers that JKUAT is to produce laptops that
will be used in the upcoming free laptop project in schools. It would be
useful if the components for that project were imported duty free to
make them more affordable. Secondly it would be useful to have those
laptops exported to external markets that do not have tarriff barriers.
Same can be said for production coming out of the envisioned Konza. I do
not see how Kenya and East Africa can become a technology hub when they
are not operating within an international tarriff-free regime, i.e. the
ITA (http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/brief_ita_e.htm) . At the moment
IT tarriffs are handled within the ambit of the EAC Common External
Tarriffs. It is therefore the EAC to negotiate (as did the EU) to be a
member of the ITA so as to eliminate the tariffs in the region and allow
any production from the region to be sold outside tarriff-free.
Furthermore it will be easy when importing to know what is currently
internationally accepted as "IT" and what is not.

Maybe the chance will arise when the WTO holds its much-hyped meeting in
Nairobi next year.

Reading through the current EAC tarrifffs (last updated 2007), they are
unwieldy and outdated. For example a section in Chapter 84 refers to
computers as "automatic data processing machines": "Machines
incorporating or working in conjunction with an automatic data
processing machine and performing a specific function other than data
processing are to be classified in the headings appropriate to their
respective functions or, failing that, in residual headings. " I suspect
there are real challenges for importers when importing new technologies
such as tablets and smart phones as well as accessories and components.
Are these classified as "IT" or not. Of course the real losers are the
consumers who have to pay higher prices. Eventually the effect is on the
wider economy because IT is more of an enabler than final consumption.

On Sat, Dec 13, 2014, at 08:53 AM, Ali Hussein wrote:
> Waudo
>
> Thanks for sharing. I'm curious to know what Kenya's position on
> this issue.
>
> Regards
>

> Ali Hussein
>
> +254 770 906375 / 0713 601113
>
> Twitter: @AliHKassim

> Skype: abu-jomo

> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim

>

> Blog: www.alyhussein.com[1]
>
> "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world
> will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein
>
>
Sent from my iPad
>
>
On Dec 12, 2014, at 9:32 PM, waudo siganga via kictanet
<kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>

>> Could interest some colleagues: No Closure For ITA Expansion
>> Negotiations[2]

>> 12/12/2014 by John Neuffer (ITI)[3]

>>

>> DATELINE GENEVA – Under cold leaden skies in this city that is home
>> to the World Trade Organization (WTO), negotiations did not wrap up
>> today with a final deal to expand the Information Technology
>> Agreement (ITA), an agreement that would grow the global economy,
>> foster innovation, and reduce consumer prices on innovative
>> technologies the world over.

>>

>> The news comes as a significant disappointment to negotiators who
>> came to Geneva last week with high hopes that an agreement was within
>> reach. The deal would have eliminated tariffs on roughly $1 trillion
>> in yearly sales of tech products and boosted global GDP by an
>> estimated $190 billion annually.

>>

>> More specifically, the final package would have included roughly 200
>> tariff lines of products driving the digital economy and improving
>> people’s lives, such as next-generation semiconductors known as MCOs,
>> MRI machines, GPS devices, loud speakers, solid state drives, video
>> game consoles, point-of-sale cards for game and software downloading,
>> video cameras, and high-tech testing equipment.

>>

>> To be sure, a deal was ever so close, as participating economies made
>> significant and difficult moves in an attempt to reach the goal line
>> over the past week. News reports suggest that South Korea, with high
>> hopes of getting LCD panels included, demonstrated a willingness to
>> consider an agreement without that tariff line with an eye on the
>> broader importance of a successful outcome to the global economy and
>> the WTO.

>>

>> Others, such as Malaysia, Thailand, Israel, Australia, the European
>> Union, and the United States, also offered last-minute flexibility
>> that would have allowed several key products to make it across the
>> finish line. Costa Rica and Guatemala, as well, made constructive
>> eleventh-hour shifts that would have kept them in the deal and
>> underscored the importance of ITA expansion to smaller developing
>> economies determined to integrate themselves even deeper in the tech
>> global supply chains.

>>

>> The inability to conclude boiled down to the fact that the Beijing
>> breakthrough achieved on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic
>> Cooperation leaders’ summit last month included a good package, but
>> one many economies felt needed further tweaking. Though it had raised
>> its ambition level in the Beijing package, China was not able to move
>> off that package.

>>

>> What’s next? There is a general sense that because the negotiations
>> came within an eyelash of concluding, people want to let the dust
>> settle from this round of talks and figure out how to finally
>> conclude this deal.

>>

>> Much hangs on successful conclusion of the ITA expansion
>> negotiations, beyond the boost it would give to global GDP, jobs, and
>> innovation. The WTO desperately needs to demonstrate it’s back in the
>> business of opening markets around the world and ITA expansion
>> remains the lowest hanging fruit in that regard. So there is no
>> disguising that today was a major setback, but there is an emerging
>> feeling that it’s not time to throw in the towel quite yet.

>>

>> http://blog.itic.org/blog/no-closure-for-ita-expansion-negotiations

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Links:

  1. http://www.alyhussein.com/
  2. http://blog.itic.org/blog/no-closure-for-ita-expansion-negotiations
  3. http://www.itic.org/about/staff/john-neuffer
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