A high-profile deal struck just weeks ago by China and the US to unlock negotiations to liberalise the trade in IT goods has run into opposition from other countries and was teetering on the edge of failure on Thursday.
The agreement reached by the US and China to revive talks to update the World Trade Organisation’s 1996 Information Technology Agreement was touted by Washington as one of the main accomplishments of President Barack Obama’s November trip to Asia.
A meeting this week in Geneva with negotiators from the 50 other economies involved in the ITA discussions was expected to rubber stamp the US-China deal and clear the way for a final agreement.