Negotiations about removing duty on some 300 IT products worth some $50bn produced by 44 countries broke down at the end of last week, reportedly because of differences between US and Europe and demands for special treatment from Malaysia and India. Trade negotiators were in Geneva trying to reach an agreement that would augment the 1997 World Trade Organization accord in which all WTO members will remove all duties on virtually all IT products by the year 2000. Talks may resume again later in the year. Asian nations wanted consumer electronics – which often have large tariffs imposed on them – to be included in any agreement; the US and Europe said no. The EU also wanted to include certain products that the US objected to.
