Press Release: Agreement on trade in IT products approved by EU

On 17 June 2016, the Council of the European Union concluded, on behalf of the EU, an international agreement on the expansion of trade in information technology products.

The agreement expanded the product coverage of a 1996 agreement to reflect technological developments.

It was agreed in Nairobi on 16 December 2015 in the margins of the World Trade Organisation's tenth ministerial conference.

The text committed 50 parties, including the EU's 28 member states, to eliminate tariffs on IT products in four stages over a three-year period ending on 1 July 2019. Each of the parties submitted schedules for the elimination of tariffs. They also agreed to intensify consultations on non-tariff barriers in the IT sector.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Economic and Financial Affairs Council, 17 June 2016 http://www.europeansources.info/record/economic-and-financial-affairs-council-17-june-2016/

ESO: Background information: EU and WTO partners finalise high tech trade deal http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-eu-and-wto-partners-finalise-high-tech-trade-deal/

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