China is part of "intensive" talks on a global trade pact regarding information technology products, but it is unclear if a deal will be made at a meeting of Asia-Pacific leaders. The United States and other countries have been hoping that China would sign on to the Information Technology Agreement (ITA), which requires signatories to eliminate duties on some IT products. Washington has blamed China, the world's biggest exporter of IT products, for derailing talks on an update to the 16 year old WTO pact on technology trade by asking for too many exemptions. Washington has warned that China must move ahead with the ITA or risk upsetting other trade talks. China has argued that a reduction in tariffs on some products would be unfair and that the agreement should take into account countries' different stages of development. Talks on the ITA during APEC come amid broader controversy over the future of regional free trade frameworks. China is pushing the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), but some see the proposal as a way to divert attention from the more comprehensive U.S.-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) plan being negotiated by 12 countries, not including China. The gLAWcal Team LIBEAC project Saturday, 8 November 2014 (Source: Reuters)