Trade negotiators on Saturday tentatively agreed to eliminate tariffs on an array of technology products valued at US$1 trillion worth of global commerce.
The breakthrough toward the WTO’s Information Technology Agreement (ITA) took place at an ambassadors’ meeting at the EU embassy in Geneva.
“Very optimistic that we’ll have a final successful deal by the end of next week,” WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said on Twitter. “We have the basis for an agreement.”
US Trade Representative Michael Froman hailed a “major breakthrough” in what would be the first significant tariff-cutting deal at the WTO in 18 years.
“This will open overseas markets for some of America’s most competitive companies and workers,” he said in an e-mailed statement. “We are confident that all parties will now give formal approval to their participation.”
TAIWAN AND CHINA
In talks that started on Tuesday, members took on the question of various tariffs, notably on LCD screens, which were contested by Taiwan and China, and an EU request concerning car radios. South Korean negotiators withdrew their opposition to an extended agreement and members agreed to consider a draft list of covered products.
Tariffs on semiconductors, magnetic resonance imaging machines, global positioning system devices, printer ink cartridges, video game consoles and other products would be cut to zero under the deal, according to the US Trade Representative office.
The expanded product list will now undergo consideration from trade ministers at their various capitals.
“We have the basis for an understanding,” Azevedo told reporters in Geneva after the meeting. “The list is out, members are going to consult their capitals, and we will know by Friday whether we have final approval on the list of products and the declaration itself.”
The product list could pave the way for a finalized deal that would contribute as much as $US190 billion to global GDP and support 60,000 US jobs.
250 PRODUCTS
Technology manufacturers like Intel Corp, Samsung Electronics Co, Sandisk Corp and Texas Instruments Inc stand to benefit from the elimination of tariffs on about 250 products.
The 80 WTO countries that participate in the ITA talks account for about 97 percent of global trade in IT products.
The ITA requires participants to eliminate import tariffs on technology products on a most-favored-nation basis, meaning that any duty-free terms are applied to all WTO members.
In September, ITA negotiators are to start talks on schedules of concessions for tariff reductions, also known as staging.
That allows countries to gradually phase in the tariff reductions for certain products deemed too sensitive for the ITA’s various signatories.
DECEMBER TALKS
Negotiators are also set to hold technical negotiations with the goal of completing the agreement by the WTO Ministerial Conference scheduled to be held between Dec. 15 and Dec. 18 in Nairobi, Kenya.
US technology industry officials are hopeful the deal could enter into force as soon as July next year.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
RSS