CompTel lauded negotiating requests submitted by office of U.S. T...
CompTel lauded negotiating requests submitted by office of U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on World Trade Organization (WTO) services negotiations (CD July 3 p6). USTR proposals cover telecom and IT sectors and call for WTO members to remove “discriminatory trade…
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restrictions” in those and other areas. “This round of trade talks is especially important to the U.S. economy in light of the difficult market conditions currently faced by telecommunications providers in the U.S.,” CompTel Exec. Vp- Gen. Counsel Carol Ann Bischoff said: “CompTel hopes that international recognition of problems exacerbated by closed telecommunications markets will spur negotiators and regulators in the WTO member countries to expand or live up to their market-opening obligations and create an environment were competition can succeed.” Grant Seiffert, vp-external affairs & global policy for TIA, also said his membership supported competition in services in WTO, particularly in countries in which it bolsters competition against govt.- owned services. “A more open and transparent process for our companies to sell into these new markets is critical,” he said. Industry source said USTR proposal apparently backed full telecom liberalization in WTO member countries, including lifting restrictions on foreign ownership. Among countries in which those restrictions are cited by USTR is Canada, which limits foreign ownership to 20% of voting capitol of telecom and broadcast operations and 33.3% of capital of holding companies.