The United States complained to the World Trade Organization about the European Union's tariffs on electronic equipment. The complaint is founded on WTO's 1996 Information Technology Agreement (ITA), which slashed tariffs on a range of high-tech goods to boost trade between countries on computers and electronics.

"We urge the EU to eliminate permanently the new duties and to cease manipulating tariffs to discourage technological innovation," said Trade Representative Susan Schwab in a statement.

The European Commission blasted the U.S. position and said that the 1996 Information Technology Agreement has a review clause which can be invoked by members at any time, thus is not required to comply. The Commission also pointed out that it is open to negotiations, but the United States failed to negotiate with the European Union ITA issues.

Most of the goods at issue are television set-top boxes, large monitors and multifunction printers, which now have tariffs of up to 17 percent in Europe. The United States is joined by Japan. The two countries manufacture high-tech goods in China and other countries and sell them under their brand names in Europe.

Prominent U.S. industry groups praised the filing, including the Information Technology Industry Council and the Consumer Electronics Association. The Ministerial Declaration on Trade in Information Technology Products (ITA) was concluded by 29 participants at the Singapore Ministerial Conference in 1996, but the number of participants has since grown to 70.