‘ITA’ to eliminate Custom duties for information technology products in Albania

On June 24^th, Albania was among 54 member countries of World Trade Organization which reached an agreement on the elimination of Custom duties for 201 products of Information and High Technology.

The agreement was considered by the European Commission and the WTO as one of the most important agreements reached in the past 18 years in this aspect. It is a subsequent agreement of ITA, the Information Technology Agreement which was signed in 1997 and expired this year. The negotiations on the expansion of the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) started in 2012, according to WTO. It covers information technology products which reach the value of EUR 1 trillion in annual terms. The European Commissioner for Trade, Cecilia Malmstrom declared that “this is a very important agreement for the consumers and companies as well.”

High tariffs in the past for such products have been a barrier for small businesses, especially in countries as Albania. The agreement will reduce costs for consumers and producers of information technology products by eliminating Custom duties within three years from the signing date of it.

News source: Scan TV
Photo credits: fancycrave1 / Pixabay