ITA expansion requires a compromise

The negotiations on amending the Information Technology Agreement within the World Trade Organization were suspended last week in Geneva. The meeting failed to bridge the gap between members on expanding the product coverage and deeper tariff cuts.

However, just because China was not capable of accepting the excessively ambitious demands from a few major developed members - since the zero tariff requests on many products are extremely sensitive to its economic and social development - it was criticized by certain members at the meeting and by the relevant industrial circles of the most advanced developed countries through the media. This is unfair and unreasonable.

First, China accepted the exiting ITA in 2001 as one of the conditions for its joining the WTO, as demanded by the United States and other major developed members, although China had never been involved in the negotiations for the ITA, which concluded in 1996 and fully recognized the serious difficulties it would confront in the implementation of the agreement after its accession. Acceptance of the agreement at that time did not mean that China must naturally and unconditionally accept any more demands from any member should the agreement be amended.