1 The Information Technology Agreement and World Trade Bijit Bora Counsellor Economic Research and Statistics Division World Trade Organisation Geneva, Switzerland

2 Bijit Bora, WTO ITA Symposium, 18 October, 2004 Outline of the presentation Methodology issues Methodology issues Trends in ITA trade Trends in ITA trade Interests of non-ITA Members Interests of non-ITA Members Impact of the ITA on trade Impact of the ITA on trade Summary observations Summary observations

3 Bijit Bora, WTO ITA Symposium, 18 October, 2004 Methodology issues Commitments are tariff line Commitments are tariff line Country commitments are only in flags in the CTS Country commitments are only in flags in the CTS HS 6 as specified in the agreement is too broad HS 6 as specified in the agreement is too broad Nomenclature concordance issues Nomenclature concordance issues

4 Bijit Bora, WTO ITA Symposium, 18 October, 2004 Trend in world ITA exports

5 Bijit Bora, WTO ITA Symposium, 18 October, 2004 ITA trade by region, 2002

6 Bijit Bora, WTO ITA Symposium, 18 October, 2004 Major ITA traders, 2002

7 Bijit Bora, WTO ITA Symposium, 18 October, 2004 World exports by ITA membership, 2002

8 Bijit Bora, WTO ITA Symposium, 18 October, 2004 World imports by ITA membership, 2002

9 Bijit Bora, WTO ITA Symposium, 18 October, 2004 Major ITA products, 2002

10 Bijit Bora, WTO ITA Symposium, 18 October, 2004 Remaining tariff barriers Among ITA Members Among ITA Members u Implementation obligations continue to 2005 u Difficult to ascertain due to lack of precision on data Some ITA Members do not have flags in CTS Some ITA Members do not have flags in CTS

11 Bijit Bora, WTO ITA Symposium, 18 October, 2004 Remaining tariff barriers Among non-ITA Members Among non-ITA Members u Significant markets are Brazil, Mexico and South Africa u Binding coverage Brazil and Mexico 100%; S.A. 99% Brazil and Mexico 100%; S.A. 99% u Binding average Brazil 30.5%; Mexico 34.6%; S.A. 11.3% Brazil 30.5%; Mexico 34.6%; S.A. 11.3% u Applied tariff rates Brazil 13%; Mexico 13%; S.A. 1.5% Brazil 13%; Mexico 13%; S.A. 1.5%

12 Bijit Bora, WTO ITA Symposium, 18 October, 2004 Avg. tariffs of Non-ITA Members by ITA product

13 Bijit Bora, WTO ITA Symposium, 18 October, 2004 Impact of the ITA agreement Very little work has been undertaken specifically on the ITA Very little work has been undertaken specifically on the ITA Broader work done on the impact of multilateral agreements in general Broader work done on the impact of multilateral agreements in general Preliminary work using a basic framework, suggests the membership in ITA has a 10% effect on world trade Preliminary work using a basic framework, suggests the membership in ITA has a 10% effect on world trade

14 Bijit Bora, WTO ITA Symposium, 18 October, 2004 Summary and conclusions ITA products are important part of world trade ITA products are important part of world trade Some transparency issues with respect to ITA obligations Some transparency issues with respect to ITA obligations u Difficult to quantify with precision Highly concentrated export structure, based on existing definition Highly concentrated export structure, based on existing definition Non-ITA member barriers are high, but other than 3 countries are a small share of world ITA trade Non-ITA member barriers are high, but other than 3 countries are a small share of world ITA trade