CANADA: International Trade Minister announces Tariff Elimination on Tech Products

Tuesday July 5 2016

The Canadian government has implemented an expanded Information Technology Agreement (ITA).

Canada’s implementation of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) expanded ITA has eliminated tariffs on 201 tech and information-related products. On July 1, 2016, Canada permanently locked in its duty-free status on the majority of products covered under the expanded ITA. The remaining tariffs will be eliminated over three years.

The ITA will benefit Canadian exporters of many products, including audiovisual products and parts, flight simulators, telecommunication products, software, media-storage devices, medical devices, touch-screen devices and medical equipment.

The additional products are estimated by the WTO to account for approximately $1.3 trillion in global annual trade. Canada is one of 53 WTO members, including China, the European Union, South Korea, Japan, and the US, participating in the expanded ITA.

The expanded ITA builds on the original 1996 ITA and eliminates participants’ tariffs on additional information and communications technology (ICT) and related products that Canada exports. This includes flight simulators, audiovisual products and parts, advanced semiconductors, telecommunications products, software, media storage devices, radar apparatus, medical devices and navigational equipment.

Canada’s annual global exports of the products covered by the expanded ITA amount to approximately $17.8 billion.

The ICT sector in Canada consists of almost 37,500 firms involved in manufacturing, software and computer services, communication services and wholesaling activities, and employs roughly 585,000 people, accounting for 4.4 percent of Canada’s GDP.

For more information, please click the link at the top of the page.