February 15, 2000 Washington DC -- In a letter to all Members of Congress the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) today called passage of permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) with China "critical to continuing American technological leadership and competitiveness in international markets." In addition, the group announced it will track the vote in its annual High-Tech Vote Guide.
"This is going to be a long hard fight and we wanted to make sure Members of Congress know that this is a key vote for our industry. We hope that Congress will realize that trade with China will benefit our consumers, our workers and our economy," said Rhett Dawson, president of ITI. "High-tech exports to China grew nearly 500% in the last decade. Opening this dynamic market will enable the U.S. IT industry to grow its exports and maintain America's technological leadership."
Our member companies export over 55% of their total output, making the IT industry the United States' largest exporter. In addition, China is one of the fastest growing markets for information technology. China will soon be the world's second largest market for cell phones; China is already the world's fastest growing market for personal computers; and the number of Chinese Internet users (8.9 million) is expected to double to about 20 million by the end of the year. This dynamism means expanded opportunity for U.S. IT exporters.
Furthermore, bringing China in to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will help close the U.S. trade gap with China. Part of the WTO agreement reached with China requires the elimination of tariffs on IT products sent to China. For example, the current tariff on a digital camera produced in the United States and shipped to China has an import tariff of 45 percent. That tariff will be eliminated in five years if China becomes part of the WTO. U.S. exporters will enjoy increased market access as a result of China's entry into the WTO.
A copy of the letter is here.
ITI is the association of leading U.S. providers of information technology
products and services. It advocates growing the economy through innovation and
supports free-market policies. ITI members had worldwide revenue of more than
$460 billion in 1999 and employ more than 1.2 million people in the United
States.
©2000 Information Technology Industry Council