EU to Lower Tariffs on High-Tech Products

September 17, 2010

The European Union (EU) has announced that it will not appeal a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling invalidating its tariffs on certain high-tech products which range as high as 14%. The EU had the option to appeal the WTO’s ruling, but decided an appeal would be resolved in its favor. As a result, the EU will lower its tariffs through a timeframe to be negotiated with the U.S.

The U.S. and others alleged that the tariffs, which cover cable boxes, flat-panel monitors, and certain multifunction printers, violated EU obligations under the multilateral Information Technology Agreement (ITA). The EU claimed that because these goods incorporated multiple technologies, they were objectively different from the items list in the ITA and therefore not covered by the agreement.

The EU’s tariffs could possibly be dropped within one year. Please contact a Barnes/Richardson attorney for more on what products are covered by this ruling.