Die Europäische Union, die Vereinigten Staaten, China und die überwiegende Mehrzahl der Mitglieder der Welthandelsorganisation (World Trade Organization, WTO) einigten sich laut einer WTO-Meldung vom 24.07.2015 darauf, künftig die Zölle für 201 High-Tech-Produkte wegfallen zu lassen. Die Kosten für Ex- und Importe im weltweiten Geschäft mit IT-Produkten können durch diese Einigung ab Mitte 2016 erheblich sinken.
Die wichtigsten Punkte dieser Pressemitteilung lauten aus unserer Sicht wie folgt:
"The extension of the 1996 Information Technology Agreement (ITA) is the biggest tariff-cutting deal in the WTO in almost two decades. The agreement initiated and brokered by the EU, will benefit both consumers and firms alike by removing customs duties on a widerange of goods, including medical equipment, video games and consoles, home hi-fi systems, headphones, blue-ray/DVR players, semi-conductors, and GPS devices. All in all, the deal will cover €1 trillion in global trade, covering close to 90% of world trade in the products concerned. A total of 54 WTO members negotiated the expansion of the ITA. A limited group of countries is expected to confirm its participation in the coming days.
Tariffs will be eliminated within 3 years from the date of application of the agreement, which is foreseen for 1st July 2016. For sensitive products longer phase-out periods will be negotiated to give industry time to adapt to a zero-tariff environment The EU has a trade surplus in the products covered of around € 15 billion. The deal will not cover certain electronic products subject to duties in the EU, such as certain monitors, projectors, non-digital car radios as well as TVs."
Link: <link http: trade.ec.europa.eu doclib press _blank external link in new>Trillion-euro global high-tech trade deal agreed
Quelle: <link http: ec.europa.eu index_en.htm _blank external link in new>European Commission