Media release

Australian Minister for Trade, Mark Vaile

Thursday, November 23, 2000

Vaile welcomes WTO work on IT barriers

Trade Minister, Mark Vaile, today welcomed the decision by a key World Trade Organisation committee to examine non-tariff barriers affecting trade in information technology products.

Mr Vaile said at Australia's request, the Committee of Participants in the World Trade Organisation Agreement on Trade in Information Technology Products (ITA) had agreed to identify non-tariff barriers to trade in IT products.  The committee is to also examine the economic and developmental impacts of the barriers.

Most of the participants in the ITA, who account for over 90% of world trade in information and communications technology products, eliminated their tariffs on these products on January 1, 2000.

"However, the IT industry is characterised by short product life cycles," Mr Vaile noted, adding "it's important to look at other barriers which can delay products reaching the market and hinder consumer' access to the latest technology.

"IT equipment is one of the fastest growing areas of world trade. Australia's exports of IT and telecommunications goods amounted to $2.5 billion in 1999," Mr Vaile said.

"The Australian IT industry has supported the Government's push for this work, and we look forward to working closely with the industry in developing a comprehensive inventory of measures to be considered in the WTO work program," Mr Vaile said.

The Market Access Facilitator for the Information Industries Taskforce, Mr Ashley Cross, will be liaising with industry in this regard.

Contacts: 
Minister's office, Bruce Mills 02 6277 7420
DFAT Information Industries Market Access Facilitator, Ashley Cross, 02 6261 2192

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Local Date: Sunday, 12-Feb-2012 10:34:38 EST