Tech Trade Associations State Support for Expansion of WTO's Information Technology Agreement

A group of tech industry associations released a statement May 16 to voice their support for an expansion of the Information Technology Agreement at the World Trade Organization. An expansion would see emerging technologies covered by the tariff-elimination elements of the pact and extend to areas of the globe not currently covered by the ITA, the statement said. Citing a study from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, the trade associations said that expanding the ITA would add almost $800 billion to global GDP over the next decade.

No new technologies have been added to the agreement since its second iteration, which passed in 2015. "We therefore call on ITA members to support launching another ambitious new round of negotiations to further expand this critically important agreement and carry forward the robust momentum produced by the original ITA and its 2015 expansion," the statement said.

The trade associations said that expanding the ITA would also "further bridge the digital divide, promote better remote healthcare solutions and save lives, give a bigger window to the world for students learning remotely, facilitate remote work, and provide new tools to address climate change."