http://www.ituc-csi.org/letter-to-the-ita-negotiating Information Technology Agreement –
countries are warned on consequences : The ITUC together with 163 other trade union and civil society
organisations and trade unions are raising concerns over a proposed expansion
of the Information Technology Agreement (“ITA II”) being negotiated at the
World Trade Organisation. A joint letter to WTO member points to the
damage the proposals would do to the development of IT industry in developing
countries.
The Agreement has been in force
since 1997, and several WTO Members are now negotiating its expansion to cover
information technology (IT) goods created since then. The Agreement
covers IT goods that comprise about ten per cent of the global merchandise,
more than the agricultural merchandise.
The letter warns the participating
countries that the Agreement could further harm workers and restrict the
prospect of industrialisation for participating developing
countries. “The necessary diffusion of technology and the need to
overcome the digital divide within and across countries require policy space
for governments in order to implement industrial policies that enable them to
develop their own industries or to increase the ownership of production of ICTs
(information and communication technologies) in supply chains in which they
operate,” it says.
As the negotiations on the ITA-II
resume in Geneva this week, trade unions and civil society are calling for the
negotiations to focus on expanding the potential for decent jobs. They also
warn that an expanded ITA will likely benefit mainly multinational enterprises
that control patent monopolies and impede technology transfer.
“Governments negotiating the ITA-II
must guarantee a fair level of transparency and accessibility, and they must
conduct impact assessments that take into account financial instability, the
persisting jobs crisis and other major challenges so as to be able to engage in
informed negotiations,” ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow said.
The letter also calls on developing
countries, and particularly LDCs (least developed countries), to think twice
before they take binding commitments under the Agreement in light of the market
access benefits they can enjoy on a non-reciprocal basis even if they stay out
of the Agreement. The ITA-II is negotiated on a Most-Favoured-Nation
basis.
Find here the letter to the ITA
negotiating Parties: http://www.ituc-csi.org/letter-to-the-ita-negotiating
