ITA: EU import duties for high-tech products largely gone as of 1 July 2016

The European Parliament has approved the extension of the World Trade Organization Information Technology Agreement. This means that import duties no longer have to be paid on a large number of electronic products for consumers and businesses.

With the approval given by the EP on June 8, the agreement, also known as Information Technology Agreement or ITA, is coming back up to date. The old treaty dates back to 1996 and was once concluded ‘on the margins’ of a then WTO summit in Singapore, the NRC Handelsblad reported in December of that year.

The agreement, which will take effect on 1 July 2016, ensures that about half of the products mentioned in the agreement no longer have to be paid import tax. For a large part of the other products from the ITA, the import duty will be gradually reduced over a period of three years. A period of seven years applies to certain sensitive products.

The 1996 list did include some IT-related products, such as computers, telecommunications equipment, semiconductors and related items, but those products now only account for about 10 percent of the total global electronics trade, Lexology writes.

Fifty members of the WTO, including the United States and China, negotiated the new ITA, which adds 201 products to the agreement, at a conference in Nairobi in December 2015. It is estimated to involve “eliminating tariffs on new technology products” with a trade value of more than $1.3 trillion per year.

To ratify the treaty, a ‘critical mass’ was needed, including the European Union. Following the approval of 8 June last, the treaty will come into force on 1 July.

Certain products are still excluded, such as LED screens and lithium-ion batteries. Vehicle-specific products such as in-car radio, GPS navigation and in-car touchscreens are also excluded. The entire list can be found on the USTR website.