On February 22, 2012, President Obama signed the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (Pub. L. No. 112-96) into law. Title VI of the law grants voluntary incentive auction authority to the FCC and establishes a nationwide interoperable public safety broadband network for first responders. The law allocates $7 billion from the auction revenues to fund the public safety broadband network build-out, up to $1.75 billion in relocation costs for broadcasters, and funds for public safety wireless research and Next-Generation 9-1-1 deployment.
TIA supported the passage of this landmark legislation, and believes that it will ensure certainty in the market, spur innovation and investment, and enhance public safety. TIA has long advocated for the policies included in the legislation, and we have supported the work that Congress, the White House, federal agencies and private industry have all done to enact and implement this much-needed legislation.
The benefits to the U.S. economy from this legislation cannot be underestimated. Hundreds of thousands of new jobs will be created and Americans will receive better broadband service, even as the auctions return a net profit to the U.S. Treasury. TIA and its members, the global manufacturers and suppliers of information and communications technology, are committed to working closely with the FCC, NTIA, and other agencies as they implement the legislation.
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).
