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Dateline GENEVA: After much erratic and obstructionist behavior by China over the course of the last ten days, it has just blown up the negotiations to expand product coverage of the Information Technology Agreement (ITA). In a high-level meeting between the United States and China this afternoon, Beijing’s negotiators said they have zero mandate to move off their tepid list of import-sensitive products. [...]
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Dateline GENEVA: At an ambassadors’ meeting this afternoon here in Geneva, negotiations to expand product coverage of the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) were extended an additional two days until close of business on Friday. The reason for the extension is China, which has refused to seriously engage in the multilateral negotiations while virtually everyone else at the table has bent over [...]
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Earlier this week, Congressman John Kline, the Chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, convened a hearing to discuss the increasing need for a reauthorized and revamped Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. First passed by Congress in 1984, the Perkins Act authorizes federal funds to supplement state and local investments in what was then known as vocational education, [...]
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Senator Max Baucus, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, is well-known and regarded for his depth of knowledge, pragmatism, and bipartisanship. That’s why ITI has been patiently awaiting the release of his plan for comprehensive tax reform. While Christmas did not arrive early in the form of an actual bill, Chairman Baucus did release a staff discussion draft today with proposed reforms for [...]
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Ericsson recently released its latest Mobility Report, providing a great, updated look at mobile communications trends and growth. Earlier this summer, ITI chatted with Ericsson’s Brian Jones about the June Mobility Report, and what it signaled to policy-makers about the need to continue finding opportunities to make spectrum available for mobile broadband. This latest report reinforces these points [...]
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Dateline GENEVA: Despite being on the receiving end of withering criticism here in Geneva, China is continuing its refusal to play ball in the multilateral effort to expand product coverage of the Information Technology Agreement (ITA). As a result, the entire negotiations are at serious risk of collapse. Shortly after ambassadors directed very pointed questions to China for refusing to provide [...]
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Dateline GENEVA: After a long and grueling week of negotiations to expand product coverage of the Information Technology Agreement (ITA), there is one big question hanging in the air: Will China really blow up this once-in-a-generation effort to significantly eliminate tariffs on tech products that will bring huge benefits to China and the global economy? In fact, you can taste the irritation laced [...]
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Google’s most recent U.S. Transparency Report issued today underscores the glaring need for greater transparency and better due process by the U.S. government when it obtains information from companies on their customers. The Google report details the number of requests it received from U.S. law enforcement agencies about how customers have used the company’s services. It also details the number of [...]
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It’s crunch time in Geneva this week. We’ve reached a pivotal moment in the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) negotiations currently taking place in that global city, which is host of the World Trade Organization. Negotiating teams and business stakeholders from around the world, including ITI’s John Neuffer, are there for the ninth time this year to move toward a commercially significant expansion [...]
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Dateline GENEVA: This is the ninth time this year negotiating teams from around the world have converged on the World Trade Organization (WTO) to expand product coverage of the Information Technology Agreement (ITA). It’s by far the most important round of talks and the last one before the WTO ministers meet in Bali, Indonesia in early December, which has long been the target for completing an agreement. [...]
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