The European Commission is expected to present a proposal to charge customs duties of up to 14% on “sophisticated” mobile phones, which come with GPS receivers and mobile TV.
There’s no doubts in my mind this is a bad idea for further development of the industry, except in the case the smartphones are assembled in Europe (Nokia?).
EICTA’s Mark MacGann said: “We are witnessing a lack of joined-up government in the EU. At a time when Europe is confronted with protracted recession, there is a need to reassure consumers. Measures such as this send the wrong message and end up penalising the most critical forces of economic recovery in Europe: consumers and innovators.”
Over the past four years, acting on proposals from the Commission, EU has ruled to classify a range of products such as LCD monitors, set-top boxes with a hard drive and multifunctional devices into customs categories where those products are taxed upon entry to the EU, at a rate of up to 14%. These decisions appear in contradiction to the EU’s commitments under the Information Technology Agreement (ITA), signed by WTO members in 1996.
Any thoughts on this? Do you agree with the European Commission’s idea? Comments form is all yours…
[Via: Cellular-News]