The Report of the Panel in Tariff Treatment of Certain Information Technology Products confirms the wide scope of concession granted under the ITA in relation to set-top boxes with a communication function. The EU now needs to bring its provisions on classification in line with these commitments. The Report leaves open the question of when an ITA set-top box will be so altered by the development of hitherto ancillary functions that it no longer falls within the scope of the concession. This article sets out some views on the correct classification of set-top boxes with a communication function (STBCs) and with an HDD and explains why the contested CNEN should have been considered as incompatible with EU classification rules.
Global Trade and Customs Journal