India cautions developing nations against Information Technology Agreement

NEW DELHI: Ahead of a key ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) this year, a government think tank has cautioned developing countries against giving into any pressure to join the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) as part of a plurilateral initiative on ecommerce that asks them to take binding commitments.

It also rejected the claim of developed countries that exports of IT services increased because of the global ITA.

“Overall, developing countries who have stayed away from the ITA/ITA-2 should not get swayed by the supposed benefits of participating in these agreements,” the New Delhi-based Centre for WTO Studies (CWS) said in a policy brief on the performance of computer, electronics and optical (CEO) products in the post-ITA phase.