China Faces Pushback At ITA Round For Seeking Long Phaseout Periods

World Trade Organization members negotiating to expand the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) this week in Geneva are pushing back on China's demands that it be allowed to phase out tariffs over the longest possible timeframe for roughly 40 percent of the IT products being considered in the expansion talks. Specifically, China is seeking to maintain tariffs on around 80 products until either five or seven years after the agreement comes into force, one source familiar with the talks said. Participants...