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27.07.10

This is what bad luck is all about: before the European Union had time to come to senses after the lost case on Airbus subsidies, it has been again found guilty of violations of WTO rules, and again upon a complaint of the US! What is at issue this time is the dispute on illegal import duties that have been levied by the EU on goods covered by the ITA (WTO Agreement on Information Technologies).

The complaint, filed with the WTO by Unites States, as well as Japan and Taiwan, has been against the EU’s “know-how,” according to which imported flat screen monitors, multifunctional printers and TV game devices are considered as consumer goods, rather than information technology products and therefore do not fall under the duty free treatment, as provided for by the Agreement. “They do fall,” the WTO has ruled.

In total, the EU imports USD 11 bln worth of these goods a year, as per 2007 data. Flat screen monitors alone, after their exemption from the import duty, will save about USD 611 mln for Taiwanese exporters.