OAS

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Ministerial Declaration on Trade
in Information Technology Products

Singapore, 13 December 1996

Ministers,

Representing the following Members of the World Trade Organization ("WTO"), and States or separate customs territories in the process of acceding to the WTO, which have agreed in Singapore on the expansion of world trade in information technology products and which account for well over 80 per cent of world trade in these products ("parties"):

    Australia

    Japan

    Canada

    Korea

    Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu

    Norway

    European Communities

    Singapore

    Hong Kong

    Switzerland

    Iceland

    Turkey

    Indonesia

    United States

Considering  the key role of trade in information technology products in the development of information industries and in the dynamic expansion of the world economy,

Recognizing the goals of raising standards of living and expanding the production of and trade in goods;

Desiring to achieve maximum freedom of world trade in information technology products;

Desiring to encourage the continued technological development of the information technology industry on a world-wide basis;

Mindful of the positive contribution information technology makes to global economic growth and welfare;

Having agreed to put into effect the results of these negotiations which involve concessions additional to those included in the Schedules attached to the Marrakesh Protocol to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, and

Recognizing  that the results of these negotiations also involve some concessions offered in negotiations leading to the establishment of Schedules annexed to the Marrakesh Protocol,

Declare as follows:

  1. Each party's trade regime should evolve in a manner that enhances market access opportunities for information technology products.
  2. Pursuant to the modalities set forth in the Annex to this Declaration, each party shall bind and eliminate customs duties and other duties and charges of any kind, within the meaning of Article II:1(b) of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, with respect to the following:

    1. all products classified (or classifiable) with Harmonized System (1996) ("HS") headings listed in Attachment A to the Annex to this Declaration; and

    2. all products specified in Attachment B to the Annex to this Declaration, whether or not they are included in Attachment A;

      through equal rate reductions of customs duties beginning in 1997 and concluding in 2000, recognizing that extended staging of reductions and, before implementation, expansion of product coverage may be necessary in limited circumstances.


  3. Ministers express satisfaction about the large product coverage outlined in the Attachments to the Annex to this Declaration. They instruct their respective officials to make good faith efforts to finalize plurilateral technical discussions in Geneva on the basis of these modalities, and instruct these officials to complete this work by 31 January 1997, so as to ensure the implementation of this Declaration by the largest number of participants.
  4. Ministers invite the Ministers of other Members of the WTO, and States or separate customs territories in the process of acceding to the WTO, to provide similar instructions to their respective officials, so that they may participate in the technical discussions referred to in paragraph 3 above and participate fully in the expansion of world trade in information technology products.

Annex: Modalities and Product Coverage

Attachment A: list of HS headings

Attachment B: list of products


ANNEX: Modalities and Product Coverage

Any Member of the World Trade Organization, or State or separate customs territory in the process of acceding to the WTO, may participate in the expansion of world trade in information technology products in accordance with the following modalities:

  1. Each participant shall incorporate the measures described in paragraph 2 of the Declaration into its schedule to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, and, in addition, at either its own tariff line level or the Harmonized System (1996) ("HS") 6-digit level in either its official tariff or any other published versions of the tariff schedule, whichever is ordinarily used by importers and exporters. Each participant that is not a Member of the WTO shall implement these measures on an autonomous basis, pending completion of its WTO accession, and shall incorporate these measures into its WTO market access schedule for goods.
  2. To this end, as early as possible and no later than 1 March 1997 each participant shall provide all other participants a document containing (a) the details concerning how the appropriate duty treatment will be provided in its WTO schedule of concessions, and (b) a list of the detailed HS headings involved for products specified in Attachment B. These documents will be reviewed and approved on a consensus basis and this review process shall be completed no later than 1 April 1997. As soon as this review process has been completed for any such document, that document shall be submitted as a modification to the Schedule of the participant concerned, in accordance with the Decision of 26 March 1980 on Procedures for Modification and Rectification of Schedules of Tariff Concessions (BISD 27S/25).

    1. The concessions to be proposed by each participant as modifications to its Schedule shall bind and eliminate all customs duties and other duties and charges of any kind on information technology products as follows:

      1. elimination of such customs duties shall take place through rate reductions in equal steps, except as may be otherwise agreed by the participants. Unless otherwise agreed by the participants, each participant shall bind all tariffs on items listed in the Attachments no later than 1 July 1997, and shall make the first such rate reduction effective no later than 1 July 1997, the second such rate reduction no later than 1 January 1998, and the third such rate reduction no later than 1 January 1999, and the elimination of customs duties shall be completed effective no later than 1 January 2000. The participants agree to encourage autonomous elimination of customs duties prior to these dates. The reduced rate should in each stage be rounded off to the first decimal; and

      2. elimination of such other duties and charges of any kind, within the meaning of Article II:1(b) of the General Agreement, shall be completed by 1 July 1997, except as may be otherwise specified in the participant's document provided to other participants for review.

    2. The modifications to its Schedule to be proposed by a participant in order to implement its binding and elimination of customs duties on information technology products shall achieve this result:

      1. in the case of the HS headings listed in Attachment A, by creating, where appropriate, sub-divisions in its Schedule at the national tariff line level; and

      2. in the case of the products specified in Attachment B, by attaching an annex to its Schedule including all products in Attachment B, which is to specify the detailed HS headings for those products at either the national tariff line level or the HS 6-digit level.

      Each participant shall promptly modify its national tariff schedule to reflect the modifications it has proposed, as soon as they have entered into effect.

  3. Participants shall meet periodically under the auspices of the Council on Trade in Goods to review the product coverage specified in the Attachments, with a view to agreeing, by consensus, whether in the light of technological developments, experience in applying the tariff concessions, or changes to the HS nomenclature, the Attachments should be modified to incorporate additional products, and to consult on non-tariff barriers to trade in information technology products. Such consultations shall be without prejudice to rights and obligations under the WTO Agreement.
  4. Participants shall meet as soon as practicable and in any case no later than 1 April 1997 to review the state of acceptances received and to assess the conclusions to be drawn therefrom. Participants will implement the actions foreseen in the Declaration provided that participants representing approximately 90 per cent of world trade in information technology products have by then notified their acceptance, and provided that the staging has been agreed to the participants' satisfaction. In assessing whether to implement actions foreseen in the Declaration, if the percentage of world trade represented by participants falls somewhat short of 90 per cent of world trade in information technology products, participants may take into account the extent of the participation of States or separate customs territories representing for them the substantial bulk of their own trade in such products. At this meeting the participants will establish whether these criteria have been met.
  5. Participants shall meet as often as necessary and no later than 30 September 1997 to consider any divergence among them in classifying information technology products, beginning with the products specified in Attachment B. Participants agree on the common objective of achieving, where appropriate, a common classification for these products within existing HS nomenclature, giving consideration to interpretations and rulings of the Customs Co-operation Council (also known as the World Customs Organization or "WCO"). In any instance in which a divergence in classification remains, participants will consider whether a joint suggestion could be made to the WCO with regard to updating existing HS nomenclature or resolving divergence in interpretation of the HS nomenclature.
  6. The participants understand that Article XXIII of the General Agreement will address nullification or impairment of benefits accruing directly or indirectly to a WTO Member participant through the implementation of this Declaration as a result of the application by another WTO Member participant of any measure, whether or not that measure conflicts with the provisions of the General Agreement.
  7. Each participant shall afford sympathetic consideration to any request for consultation from any other participant concerning the undertakings set out above. Such consultations shall be without prejudice to rights and obligations under the WTO Agreement.
  8. Participants acting under the auspices of the Council for Trade in Goods shall inform other Members of the WTO and States or separate customs territories in the process of acceding to the WTO of these modalities and initiate consultations with a view to facilitate their participation in the expansion of trade in information technology products on the basis of the Declaration.
  9. As used in these modalities, the term "participant" shall mean those Members of the WTO, or States or separate customs territories in the process of acceding to the WTO, that provide the document described in paragraph 2 no later than 1 March 1997.
  10. This Annex shall be open for acceptance by all Members of the WTO and any State or any separate customs territory in the process of acceding to the WTO. Acceptances shall be notified in writing to the Director-General who shall communicate them to all participants.

There are two attachments to the Annex.

Attachment A lists the HS headings or parts thereof to be covered.

Attachment B lists specific products to be covered by an ITA wherever they are classified in the HS.

Attachment A, Section 1
  HS96   HS description
  3818   Chemical elements doped for use in electronics, in form of discs, wafers or similar forms; chemical compounds doped for use in electronics
  8469 11 Word processing machines
  8470   Calculating machines and pocket�size data recording, reproducing and displaying machines with a calculating function; accounting machines, postage franking machines, ticket�issuing machines and similar machines, incorporating a calculating devices; cash registers:
  8470 10 Electronic calculators capable of operating without an external source of electric power and pocket size data recording, reproducing and displaying machines with calculating functions
  8470 21 Other electronic calculating machines incorporating a printing device
  8470 29 Other
  8470 30 Other calculating machines
  8470 40 Accounting machines
  8470 50 Cash registers
  8470 90 Other
  8471   Automatic data processing machines and units thereof; magnetic or optical readers, machines for transcribing data onto data media in coded form and machines for processing such data, not elsewhere specified or included:
  8471 10 Analogue or hybrid automatic data processing machines
  8471 30 Portable digital automatic data processing machines, weighing no more than 10 kg, consisting of at least a central processing unit, a keyboard and a display
  8471 41 Other digital automatic data processing machines comprising in the same housing at least a central processing unit and an input and output unit, whether or not combined
  8471 49 Other digital automatic data processing machines presented in the form of systems
  8471 50 Digital processing units other than those of subheading 8471 41 and 8471 49, whether or not in the same housing one or two of the following types of units : storage units, input units, output units
  8471 60 Input or output units, whether or not containing storage units in the same housing
  8471 70 Storage units, including central storage units, optical disk storage units, hard disk drives and magnetic tape storage units
  8471 80 Other units of automatic data processing machines
  8471 90 Other
ex 8472 90 Automatic teller machines
  8473 21 Parts and accessories of the machines of heading No 8470 of the electronic calculating machines of subheading 8470 10, 8470 21 and 8470 29
  8473 29 Parts and accessories of the machines of heading No 8470 other than the electronic calculating machines of subheading 8470 10, 8470 21 and 8470 29
  8473 30 Parts and accessories of the machines of heading No 8471
  8473 50 Parts and accessories equally suitable for use with machines of two or more of the headings Nos. 8469 to 8472
ex 8504 40 Static converters for automatic data processing machines and units thereof, and telecommunication apparatus
ex 8504 50 Other inductors for power supplies for automatic data processing machines and units thereof, and telecommunication apparatus
  8517   Electrical apparatus for line telephony or line telegraphy, including line telephone sets with cordless handsets and telecommunication apparatus for carrier�current line systems or for digital line systems; videophones:
  8517 11 Line telephone sets with cordless handsets
  8517 19 Other telephone sets and videophones
  8517 21 Facsimile machines
  8517 22 Teleprinters
  8517 30 Telephonic or telegraphic switching apparatus
  8517 50 Other apparatus, for carrier�current line systems or for digital line systems
  8517 80 Other apparatus including entry�phone systems
  8517 90 Parts of apparatus of heading 8517
ex 8518 10 Microphones having a frequency range of 300 Hz to 3,4 KHz with a diameter of not exceeding 10 mm and a height not exceeding 3 mm, for telecommunication use
ex 8518 30 Line telephone handsets
ex 8518 29 Loudspeakers, without housing, having a frequency range of 300 Hz to 3,4 KHz with a diameter of not exceeding 50 mm, for telecommunication use
  8520 20 Telephone answering machines
  8523 11 Magnetic tapes of a width not exceeding 4 mm
  8523 12 Magnetic tapes of a width exceeding 4 mm but not exceeding 6,5 mm
  8523 13 Magnetic tapes of a width exceeding 6,5 mm
  8523 20 Magnetic discs
  8523 90 Other
  8524 31 Discs for laser reading systems for reproducing phenomena other than sound or image
ex 8524 39 Other:

� for reproducing representations of instructions, data, sound, and image, recorded in a machine readable binary form, and capable of being manipulated or providing interactivity to a user, by means of an automatic data processing machine

  8524 40 Magnetictapes for reproducing phenomena other than sound or image
  8524 91 Media for reproducing phenomena other than sound or image
ex 8424 99 Other:

� for reproducing representations of instructions, data, sound, and image, recorded in a machine readable binary form, and capable of being manipulated or providing interactivity to a user, by means of an automatic data processing machine

ex 8525 10 Transmission apparatus other than apparatus for radio�broadcasting or television
  8525 20 Transmission apparatus incorporating reception apparatus
ex 8525 40 Digital still image video cameras
ex 8527 90 Portable receivers for calling, alerting or paging
ex 8529 10 Aerials or antennae of a kind used with apparatus for radio�telephony and radio�telegraphy
ex 8529 90 Parts of:

transmission apparatus other than apparatus for radio�broadcasting or television

transmission apparatus incorporating reception apparatus

digital still image video cameras,

portable receivers for calling, alerting or paging

  8531 20 Indicator panels incorporating liquid crystal devices (LCD) or light emitting diodes (LED)
ex 8531 90 Parts of apparatus of subheading 8531 20
  8532   Electrical capacitors, fixed, variable or adjustable (pre�set):
  8532 10 Fixed capacitors designed for use in 50/60 Hz circuits and having a reactive power handling capacity of not less than 0,5 kvar (power capacitors)
  8532 21 Tantalum fixed capacitors
  8532 22 Aluminium electrolytic fixed capacitors
  8532 23 Ceramic dielectric, single layer fixed capacitors
  8532 24 Ceramic dielectric, multilayer fixed capacitors
  8532 25 Dielectric fixed capacitors of paper or plastics
  8532 29 Other fixed capacitors
  8532 30 Variable or adjustable (pre�set) capacitors
  8532 90 Parts
  8533   Electrical resistors (including rheostats and potentiometers), other than heating resistors:
  8533 10 Fixed carbon resistors, composition or film types
  8533 21 Other fixed resistors for a power handling capacity not exceeding 20 W
  8533 29 Other fixed resistors for a power handling capacity of 20 W or more
  8533 31 Wirewound variable resistors, including rheostats and potentiometers, for a power handling capacity not exceeding 20 W
  8533 39 Wirewound variable resistors, including rheostats and potentiometers, for a power handling capacity of 20 W or more
  8533 40 Other variable resistors, including rheostats and potentiometers
  8533 90 Parts
  8534   Printed circuits
ex 8536 50 Electronic AC switches consisting of optically coupled input and output circuits (Insulated thyristor AC switches)
ex 8536 50 Electronic switches, including temperature protected electronic switches, consisting of a transistor and a logic chip (chip�on�chip technology) for a voltage not exceeding 1000 volts
ex 8536 50 Electromechanical snap�action switches for a current not exceeding 11 amps
ex 8536 69 Plugs and sockets for co�axial cables and printed circuits
ex 8536 90 Connection and contact elements for wires and cables
  8541   Diodes, transistors and similar semiconductor devices; photosensitive semiconductor devices, including photovoltaic cells whether or not assembled in modules or made up into panels; light�emitting diodes; mounted piezo�electric crystals:
  8541 10 Diodes, other than photosensitive or light�emitting diodes
  8541 21 Transistors, other than photosensitive transistors, with a dissipation rate of less than 1 W
  8541 29 Transistors, other than photosensitive transistors, with a dissipation rate of 1 W or more
  8541 30 Thyristors, diacs and triacs, other than photosensitive devices
  8541 40 Photosensitive semiconductor devices, including photovoltaic cells whether or not assembled in modules or made up into panels; light emitting diodes
  8541 50 Other semiconductor devices
  8541 60 Mounted piezo�electric crystals
  8541 90 Parts
  8542   Electronic integrated circuits and microassemblies
  8542 12 Cards incorporating an electronic integrated circuit ('smart' cards)
  8542 13 Metal oxide semiconductors (MOS technology)
  8542 14 Circuits obtained by bipolar technology
  8542 19 Other monolithic digital integrated circuits, including circuits obtained by a combination of bipolar and MOS technologies (BIMOS technology)
  8542 30 Other monolithic integrated circuits
  8542 40 Hybrid integrated circuits
  8542 50 Electronic microassemblies
  8542 90 Part
  8543 81 Proximity cards and tags
ex 8543 89 Electrical machines with translation or dictionary functions
ex 8544 41 Other electric conductors, for a voltage not exceeding 80 V, fitted with connectors, of a kind used for telecommunications
ex 8544 49 Other electric conductors, for a voltage not exceeding 80 V, not fitted with connectors, of a kind used for telecommunications
ex 8544 51 Other electric conductors, for a voltage exceeding 80 V but not exceeding 1000 V, fitted with connectors, of a kind used for telecommunications
  8544 70 Optical fibre cables
  9009 11 Electrostatic photocopying apparatus, operating by reproducing the original image directly onto the copy (direct process)]
  9009 21 Other photocopying apparatus, incorporating an optical system
  9009 90 Parts and accessories
  9026   Instruments and apparatus for measuring or checking the flow, level, pressure or other variables of liquids or gases (for example, flow meters, level gauges, manometers, heat meters), excluding instruments and apparatus of heading No 9014, 9015, 9028 or 9032:
  9026 10 Instruments for measuring or checking the flow or level of liquids
  9026 20 Instruments and apparatus for measuring or checking pressure
  9026 80 Other instruments and apparatus for measuring or checking of heading 9026
  9026 90 Parts and accessories of instruments and apparatus of heading 9026
  9027 20 Chromatographs and electrophoresis instruments
  9027 30 Spectrometers, spectrophotometers and spectrographs using optical radiations (UV, visible, IR)
  9027 50 Other instruments and apparatus using optical radiations (UV, visible, IR) of heading No 9027
  9027 80 Other instruments and apparatus of heading No 9027 (other than those of heading No 9027 10)
ex 9027 90 Parts and accessories of products of heading 9027, other than for gas or smoke analysis apparatus and microtomes
  9030 40 Instruments and apparatus for measuring and checking, specially designed for telecommunications (for example, cross�talk meters, gain measuring instruments, distorsion factor meters, psophometers)

Continuation: Attachment A, Section 2