ITA Committee holds thematic session highlighting ITA's role in digital transformation

The thematic session, organized by the ITA Committee with the UK Permanent Mission to the WTO, focused on sharing the experiences of newly acceded ITA participants and reviewed the ITA's role in digital transformation, with a view to expanding participation in the ITA and the ITA Expansion Agreement.

Presentations by Timor-Leste and Lao PDR emphasized the challenges and opportunities for least developed countries (LDCs) in joining the ITA. They outlined their experiences on organizing task forces to address domestic coordination among ministries and on identifying priority products in their schedules of commitments.

Private sector representatives from the Philippines, the European Union and the United States reiterated the significant role the ITA has played in job creation, fostering technological development, attracting foreign investment and promoting digital transformation in countries of different levels of development. A recent report on the ITA by Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) was also shared by the representative of Japan.

The thematic session was the first of three proposed sessions, with further meetings planned up to the end of 2026. The other two sessions will focus on the ITA's role in promoting artificial intelligence and other new technologies, and how the ITA supports e-commerce and addresses the digital divide.

The Chair of the ITA Committee, Mr. Andrei Rusu (Romania), concluded that the ITA plays a critical role in addressing digital connectivity issues. The future competitiveness of economies will depend on how quickly they embrace and adapt to technological changes, he added.

Committee meeting

At the Committee's meeting on the same day, ITA participants continued discussions on non-tariff measures (NTMs) and agreed to undertake on a voluntary basis a new survey regarding non-tariff barriers faced by traded information technology products.

Members praised Indonesia's removal of tariffs on mobile phones, which came into effect in September, and sought clarification on certain aspects of the legislation. Members continued to question Egypt on its additional import duties regarding imports of cell phones, saying that these duties have undermined market access conditions.

The ITA Committee also reviewed its recent joint event with the TBT Committee and agreed to pursue similar opportunities to enhance synergies between the two WTO bodies.  In addition, the Committee advanced its work on product classification divergence and set a new roadmap for resolving the long-standing issue.

The next formal meeting is tentatively scheduled for 15 April 2026. Additional meetings may be convened as required.