U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has set June deadlines for deciding whether to take next steps at World Trade Organization (WTO) on concerns about lapses in telecom market-opening commitments in Mexico and Colombia. Annual report released Mon. by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick set June 1 as date by which U.S. would decide whether to take concerns over Mexico to WTO, with June 25 target for Colombia. While Mexico has made some progress on domestic local and long distance front, USTR officials said in background briefing that concerns remained over lack of enforcement of new dominant carrier regulations against Telefonos de Mexico (Telmex) and inaction on international long distance interconnection. USTR also urged: (1) S. Africa to complete regulatory process that addresses refusal by state-owned, dominant carrier Telkom to allow value-added service providers, including ISPs, to increase capacity on its network. (2) Taiwan to take steps to deregulate its telecom market consistent with bilateral agreement with U.S. concerning its yet-to-be granted WTO entry.
Competition agreement should be part of next round of World Trade Organization (WTO) talks, European Union (EU) Competition Comr. Mario Monti said Fri. He raised issue with FCC Chmn. Powell and Dept. of Justice (DoJ) officials, he said, and planned to discuss it with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick. EU considers such accord “very important,” Monti said. As more countries create competition authorities, it would be good to include in WTO some agreement on “core principles” such as transparency, nondiscrimination between national and foreign companies, and due process, he said. Competition agreement could include concept of peer review process to ensure that laws passed by WTO members were in line with those principles, as well as some way to foster bilateral cooperation between different antitrust authorities, Monti said. It’s becoming increasingly clear, he said, that growing number of countries now back inclusion of competition framework within WTO that would support introduction and enforcement of competition laws. It’s also important to be clear on what “we do not want” in next round, he said, including having WTO review antitrust decisions made by member states’ respective regulatory bodies. Asked whether he sensed any change in U.S. opposition to competition agreement, Monti said that neither FCC nor DoJ was “particularly inclined” during his meetings to outline future U.S. policies. Other items EU intends to press for, he said, are further strengthening of bilateral cooperation in antitrust matters and global competition forum. European Commission clears “vast majority” of mergers and acquisitions in one month, Monti said, citing Boeing’s recent acquisition of Hughes’s satellite company. That speed and predictability is greatly appreciated by business community, he said.
U.S., European Union (EU) and Greece informed World Trade Organization (WTO) that they had reached “a mutually satisfactory solution” to problem of pirating of American movies and TV programs by Greek broadcast stations. In releases issued by U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Zoellick and EU late Thurs. and Fri., 3 parties said they finally settled dispute after more than 10 years of complaints by American film industry about rampant copyright violations. Relieved MPAA officials, who had pressed for end to problem, said settlement resolved worst case of over- the-air TV piracy in world by far. “I think the problem is solved now,” MPAA Trade & Federal Affairs Vp Bonnie Richardson said. “Obviously, we'll keep an eye on it.”
Peter Shields, Wiley, Rein & Fielding, named pres.-elect, Federal Communications Bar Assn… Peter Davidson, ex-Qwest, named gen. counsel, U.S. Trade Representative… Ex-FCC Gen. Counsel Christopher Wright will move to Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis April 2 to head its appellate practice… Andrew Fessel, ex-Jupiter Media Metrix, appointed vp-wireless Internet intelligence, Telephia… Changes at BigBand Networks: James Rodgers, ex- PowerTV, named COO; Ed Thompson, ex-Harmonic, appointed vp- business development for cable networks; Michael Taylor, ex- nCube, named vp-business development for IP networks… James Jochum, Accenture, nominated by President Bush to be Asst. Secy. of Commerce for Export Administration… Promotions WFYI Indianapolis TelePlex: Jeanelle Adamak and Alan Cloe advanced to exec. vps; Steve Jensen promoted to vp-engineering; James Duvall steps up vp-audio services and radio station mgr.; Gail Thomas- Strong moves up to dir.-learning services; Donald Newman promoted to dir.-Ind. Reading & Information Services; Thomas Ewing advanced to dir.-corporate development… Julie Roth, ex-Motorola, appointed vp-mktg., U.S. Wireless… Marianne Goode, ex-Rondor, joins Lifetime TV as vp-music… David Lazzo, ex-KCFX-FM Kansas City, named midwest account executive, Fox Sports Net… Robert Acquaotta, ex-Sesame Workshop, named dir.-online sales, American Baby Group, Primedia Consumer Magazines… Michael Yudin, ex- Telescene Entertainment, named pres., Magnum Productions unit of Magnum Sports & Entertainment.
European Union’s (EU) top envoy in U.S., Gunter Burghardt, called Wed. for policy of “negotiate before you litigate” in diplomatic dealings between EU and U.S. In speech at Duke U., Burghardt, who heads European Commission’s Washington office, said dispute settlement before World Trade Organization should be last resort option for resolving disputes. “It is vastly preferable to address potential conflicts before they become the subjects of newspaper editorials,” he said. In sketching “new approach” for managing trans-Atlantic trade disputes, he said U.S. and EU should focus on economic issues such as launching new multilateral trade round. “On data protection, the EU is under strong pressure from its citizens to adopt much stricter control over access to personal data than is the case in the U.S.,” he said. “U.S. public opinion and that of some U.S. CEOs have moved towards the European position on this issue, resulting in agreement on adoption of the ’safe harbor’ principle.” New U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick and EU Trade Comr. Pascal Lamy plan to meet in Washington early next month.
Public broadcasting and foreign ownership of telecom companies were among subjects on what House Commerce Committee Chmn. Tauzin called panel’s “ambitious” oversight agenda. List released Wed. includes topics Tauzin and others on Committee have talked about repeatedly in last few weeks, such as FCC reform, DTV transition, networks’ election night coverage, broadband deployment. But it also includes: (1) Review of federal funding needed for CPB, including “in-depth examination of the estimated transition costs of the public broadcasters for converting from analog to digital television.” (2) Cybercrime prevention and critical infrastructure protection activities of various agencies, including FCC. (3) Wireless privacy and wiretapping issues, including examination of law enforcement’s needs under Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). (4) Violent content in media. (5) State of high-tech industry, including examination of causes of “economic malaise affecting the e-commerce industry. (6) FCC’s broadcast ownership rules and whether they comport with congressional intent. (7) Copyright rules online. (7) Spectrum management and other wireless policies such as spectrum cap. (8) Educational technology programs. Agenda said Committee planned to find “best way to combine the many differing and competing programs into a single funding mechanism.” (9) Phone calling rates for calling cards and in hotels. (10) Efforts of other countries to comply with their trade obligations, particularly in regard to telecom agreements, on which U.S. Trade Representative will release assessment March 31. Meanwhile, Tauzin and ranking Democrat Dingell (Mich.) submitted a budget request giving the Republican majority two- thirds of the Committee’s funds and staff, an arrangement Dingell called “a significant improvement” from the previous session.
U.S. Trade Representative’s office let pass first opportunity this year to seek World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement panel on U.S. concerns that Mexico hadn’t adhered to commitments to open its telecom market. USTR spokeswoman said that didn’t mean U.S. had made decision not to pursue dispute settlement panel. Dispute settlement body meeting in Geneva Feb. 1 would have marked first U.S. opportunity to request creation of panel, which USTR first sought in Dec. At that time, Mexico blocked request, as was its right under WTO process. USTR officials said at time that unless outstanding concerns were resolved, U.S. would make 2nd request around Feb. 1. Some progress has been made in interim, with Telefonos de Mexico (Telmex) reaching agreement with WorldCom unit Avantel and Alestra, in which AT&T has stake, on issues such as local network interconnection to provide local services. “We appreciate that Mexico has taken care of a number of issues,” USTR spokeswoman said Thurs. “Some concerns remain, such as in the area of international service rates.” U.S. still reserves right to move case at WTO, she said: “We have not dropped our complaint. We are in a watch-and-see mode.” Move to forestall action reflects newly installed administration in Mexico of President Vicente Fox. Among outstanding issues from U.S. perspective is lack of effective regulation of Telmex, “extremely high” interconnection rates and high settlement rates for international traffic, source said. “There’s a lot of work left to do down there,” source said. “USTR’s efforts there have been helpful.” USTR officials indicated in mid-Jan. that although some progress had been made, concerns remained about lack of effective regulatory strictures in Mexico over Telmex.
While countries such as Japan and Mexico are starting to remove obstacles to competition, serious problems persist, telecom companies and equipment makers told U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) office. USTR sought comments in Jan. as part of annual review on effectiveness of U.S. trade agreements involving telecom products and services, including World Trade Organization’s (WTO) basic telecom agreement. Commenters also pointed frequently to competition hurdles in European Union (EU) member states, urging U.S. in some cases to seek stricter implementation of existing EU directives. Concerns raised by telecom companies, which in part centered on interconnection rates, provide road map of lingering telecom market-opening issues that would face USTR under Bush nominee Robert Zoellick.
U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Charlene Barshefsky said U.S. and European Union (EU) had put in place agreements designed to reduce barriers to nearly $30 billion in annual transatlantic trade of telecom and electronic products. Mutual recognition agreement sectoral annexes eliminate duplicative product testing requirements. USTR said that under agreement, EU regulators would recognize certificates issued by designated labs in U.S. that equipment they had evaluated met EU requirements, and vice versa. USTR said that will allow U.S. manufacturers to export products to EU without additional certifications and tests. “This landmark step facilitates electronic trade in many telecommunications and information technology products by improving market access, reducing costs and shortening the time required to market certain U.S. products in the EU,” Barshefsky said. Mutual recognition agreement annexes on telecom equipment cover terminal equipment, such as radio transmitters and information technology equipment. Annex on electromagnetic compatibility covers equipment subject to EU and U.S. radio interference and compatibility requirements.
Citing U.S. World Trade Organization (WTO) promises, former Commerce Secy. and U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor urged FCC to approve license transfers for proposed $34-billion VoiceStream-Deutsche Telekom merger. VoiceStream submitted Kantor statement before close of comment period on merger Mon. “This FCC proceeding is about more than the acquisition of a U.S. common carrier by a foreign company,” he said. “It is a test of the United States’ compliance with binding international legal obligations which were negotiated and entered into in good faith.” In acting on VoiceStream-DT application, FCC must move in way that’s consistent with U.S. obligations under WTO Basic Telecom Agreement (BTA), he said. “Failure to do so could invite initiation of a WTO dispute settlement action against the U.S. government and would establish for other WTO members an unwelcome precedent of noncompliance,” Kantor said. He warned that scope of sanctions under General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) wasn’t limited to sector in which violation was found. That means, Kantor said, that if U.S. were found to have violated GATS, “it could be liable for trade sanctions in any sector.” Also, if U.S. were to act in way that indicated backtracking on trade commitments, it could damage its negotiating power in current talks, such as GATS services negotiations, he said. FCC shouldn’t restrict access to U.S. telecom market “based on market conditions in other countries that do not affect competition in the United States,” he said. Binding U.S. commitments under BTA don’t hinge on other countries’ implementation of their own duties, he said. In other reply comments, Organization for International Investment rebutted concerns raised by Sen. Hollings (D-S.C.) and DT competitors such as Global TeleSystems and Novaxess. Hollings, ranking Democrat on Senate Commerce Committee, last month had renewed his call to FCC to reject application, underlining his opposition to telecom assets bought by companies with majority foreign govt. investment (CD Dec 18 p6). In other comments, Siemens advocated approval of merger, saying it would increase U.S. telephony competition. Transaction still awaits approvals of Dept. of Justice, FCC and Committee on Foreign Interests in U.S.