TIA Welcomes Results of APEC Trade Ministers Meeting

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:  Ashley Rook, +1.202.429.4929, AshleyRook@Rational360.com

TIA Welcomes Results of APEC Trade Ministers Meeting

ARLINGTON, VA (April 23, 2013) – The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), the leading association representing the manufacturers and suppliers of high-tech communications networks, today announced that it welcomes the outcomes of the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum meeting of the Ministers Responsible for Trade in Surabaya, Indonesia.  APEC is made up of 21 economies around the Pacific Rim accounting for approximately 55 percent of global GDP and 44 percent of world trade.  Grant Seiffert, president of TIA, issued the following statement:

“TIA applauds the continued focus of APEC to liberalize trade and investment in the region, including the APEC Trade Ministers’ reaffirmation of the 2011 APEC Leaders pledge to rollback protectionist and trade-distorting measures, and the Minister’s recommendation to extend this pledge through 2016.  We are also pleased that APEC Trade Ministers called on all participants of the WTO Information Technology Agreement (ITA) to swiftly conclude negotiations by the middle of the year to expand the product list of information and communication technology (ICT) products that receive duty-free treatment and seek further expansion of the membership of the ITA.  The ITA, originally concluded in 1996, remains one of the most commercially significant trade agreements for the ICT industry; it helped to increase the diffusion of ICT products throughout the world, which are critical to so many industries outside of the high technology sector.  Updating and expanding the ITA will bring this seminal agreement into the 21st century, and we look forward to a commercially significant expansion of the ITA product list by later this summer.”

About TIA

The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) represents manufacturers and suppliers of global communications networks through standards development, policy and advocacy, business opportunities, market intelligence, and events and networking. TIA enhances the business environment for broadband, mobile wireless, information technology, networks, cable, satellite and unified communications. Members' products and services empower communications in every industry and market, including healthcare, education, security, public safety, transportation, government, the military, the environment, and entertainment. Visit tiaonline.org for more details.

TIA is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and is a proud sponsor of ANSI’s Standards Boost Business campaign. Visit www.standardsboostbusiness.org for details.

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