On October 8, 2010, President Obama signed the The Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA) (Pub. L. No. 111-260) into law, which was enacted to ensure that the approximately 54 million Americans with disabilities have access to the incredible and innovative communications technologies of the 21st century. This law is widely considered to represent the most significant accessibility legislation since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. TIA supports the passage of the CVAA and is committed to help ensure that all Americans have access to advanced communications services (ACS) products.
As a representative of hundreds of companies that manufacture information and communication technology (ICT), TIA has been closely engaged in the development and passage of the CVAA, and is heavily engaged in Federal agency rulemakings pursuant to it. We understand the wide-ranging effects that this important law will have on investment and product cycles, and we work to provide our member companies with the resources and access to fully understand it so that compliance can be ensured. We provide members with resources to help with compliance, such as holding a TIA webinar on CVAA compliance, a CVAA implementation and compliance timeline, summaries of important FCC rulemakings, and more.
For members only, TIA has completed a breakdown of the implementation dates of the CVAA, which we update periodically. Members can access this resource here.
We hope that China will use this break in the negotiations to reexamine its approach to the negotiations to expand the ITA and focus on reducing its overly large list of sensitive products. If China is ready to move forward to conclude the expansion of the ITA this year then the ITA Expansion is achievable this year.
As part of a large U.S. industry delegation representing a broad array of ICT manufacturers, TIA is in Geneva, Switzerland this week to cheer on the trade negotiators who are working hard to conclude the negotiations to expand the product coverage of the WTO’s Information Technology Agreement (ITA). The ITA remains one of the most commercially important WTO trade agreements – by eliminating tariffs on a broad range of ICT products, the ITA lowers the cost and improves access to these products, which are vital to the economic competitiveness of all economies around the world.
The Telecommunications Industry Association was in Geneva last week along with AdvaMed, the Consumer Electronics Association, the Entertainment Software Association, the Information Technology Industry Council, the Liquid Crystal Polymer Coalition, the Motion Picture Association of America, and the Semiconductor Industry Association. This coalition of high-tech companies represents a broad spectrum of manufacturers and service providers in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector.
Last week was a busy one at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland. The signs are very encouraging that the member countries of the WTO are back on track to move the WTO’s trade liberalization agenda forward – from the new International Services Agreement (ISA) to the ongoing negotiations to expand the existing WTO Information Technology Agreement (ITA).
