. /.RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/IT/W/8
8 October 2002
(02-5410)
DRAFT
REPORT (2002) OF THE COMMITTEE OF PARTICIPANTS ON THE EXPANSION
OF TRADE IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS
1. The Committee of Participants on the Expansi on of Trade in Information Technology Products,
hereinafter referred to as "the Committee", was establ ished pursuant to the provisions of the Ministerial
Declaration on Trade in Information Technology Pr oducts (WT/MIN(96)/16), hereinafter referred to as
"the Ministerial Declaration", and the provisions fo r the Implementation of the Ministerial Declaration
on Trade in Information Technology Products (G/L/ 160), in order to carry out the provisions of
paragraphs 3, 5, 6 and 7 of the Annex to the Declaration.
2. The Committee has held four formal meetings in 2002:  on 15 February,  3 May,  5 July, and
[15 October].  The minutes of these meetings are contained in documents G/IT/M/30 to [G/IT/M/33].
Mr. P. Gregersen (Denmark) was elect ed Chairman of the Committee for 2002.
3. The total number of participants to the Ministeria l Declaration is fifty-six.  In the past year, the
schedule of the People's Republic of China was circulat ed to all participants.  However, its approval by
the Committee remained pending as consultations were still taking place between China and the US on
certain issues.  The Committee's rules of procedur e provide for observer status in the Committee for
WTO Members which are not participants to the Mi nisterial Declaration and Governments that are
observers to the Council for Trade in Goods.  Requests for observer status by international
intergovernmental organizations are considered on a case-by-case basis.  The International Trade Centre
(ITC) and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have been granted
observer status; and the World Customs Organiza tion (WCO) has been granted observer status to
meetings where the issues of HS classification and HS amendments are included in the agenda.
4.  The Committee continued work on the Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) Work Programme.  It
took note of the Secretariat paper which provided an overview of the submissions to the NTMs Work
Programme.  The Committee agreed to the first phase of the pilot project as proposed by Canada, and
in this connection, a factual survey on Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) and ElectromagneticInterference (EMI) of information technology products was carried out.  Eighteen responses were
received to this survey and the Secretariat prepared an overview of the survey responses as well as a
bibliography on these two matters.  Concerning the second phase of Canada's pilot project, Canada
circulated a more detailed proposal of a workshop on EMC/EMI which was considered by the
Committee.  The Committee took note of the additional submissions made under Phase II of the WorkProgramme
5.  The Committee continued work on classification divergences.  The Committee noted that an
official reply had been received from the WCO Harmonized System Committee regarding the list of
classification issues sent to it by the Committee.  Canada made a submission on the existing listing of
classifications.  Following agreement in the Committee, an informal meeting of customs experts was
held on 6-8 May 2002.  The Committee took note of the summary provided by the Chairman on theoutcome of the work undertaken by the customs experts.  The Chairman indicated that a report of this
meeting was under preparation by the Secretariat.G/IT/W/8
Page 2
6. The Committee has consistently reviewed the status of implementation, a summary of which
is provided in document G/IT/1 and its revisions.  The document noted that most participants had
submitted the formal documentation for rectification and modification of their WTO schedules in
order to incorporate the commitments arising from the Ministerial Declaration and most had beencertified by the Director-General.  A few countries were still awaiting the completion of domestic
procedural requirements or had not yet submitted the necessary documentation.
7, The Committee also addressed the issue of derestriction of documents due to the fact that the
new policy adopted by the General Council (WT/L/452) specifically excluded the documents of the
Committee.  The Committee agreed to adopt the General Council decision as the policy for circulation
and derestriction of documents of this Committee. However, in relation to documents issued in the
G/IT/SPEC/- series and which pertained to the NTMs Work Programme, a decision remained to be
taken by the Committee.
8.  The Chairman regularly informed the Committee under "other business" that various participants
continued to consult among themselves on review of product coverage.  He encouraged delegations to
continue consultations.  Also under "other busines s", the Committee took note of the response that the
Chairman had provided to a request by the Chairman of the Committee on Trade and Developmentfor information on the Committee's work with respect to special and differential treatment.
This document will be updated to take into account the discussions at the resumed
meeting and the regular meeting on 14 October 2002.
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