It is time to expand the WTO's Information Technology Agreement
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Import & export
Published: 29 Feb 2024
The Information Technology Agreement (ITA) is one of the WTO's most successful agreements and has led to the elimination of tariffs for many products. However, even more goods could be included in the ITA, which has been shown in a new report by the National Board of Trade Sweden.
"These are for example, robots used in agriculture, recycling machines, 3D printers and smart wearables that can improve health or warn of risks. Our ambition is to raise interest in and encourage WTO-members to engage in discussion of a further expansion of the agreement, ITA3", says Maria Johem, main author of the report.
In the report, National Board of Trade Sweden analyses whether an ITA3 could be used as a tool for increasing access to digital technology and to promote the Sustainable Development Goals of 2030 Agenda.
”We have limited the scope to a few specific areas: Agriculture, renewable energy, medical technology and recycling."
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