USTR Issues 2008 Review of Telecommunications Trade Agreements
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has issued its 2008 annual "Section 1377 Review" of the operation and effectiveness of telecommunications trade agreements. According to the USTR, the review identifies barriers facing U.S. telecommunications service and equipment suppliers, evaluates progress towards resolving ongoing problems, and lays out the specific telecommunications-related issues on which the USTR will focus its efforts this year.
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(The USTR conducts this annual review pursuant to Section 1377 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988.)
2008 Review Identifies Country-Specific, General Telecommunications Concerns
The 2008 Review focuses on country-specific concerns, as well as more general issues of concern with regard to telecommunications-related issues.
The USTR states that as some of the issues in the review continue to raise general concerns regarding trading partners' compliance with their trade obligations, the 2008 Review helps to establish a set of issues that the USTR will actively monitor throughout the year. The USTR adds that if warranted, it may take further action.
Country-specific concerns. In its 2008 Review, the USTR identified the following country-specific concerns:
Australia - access to Telstra's telecommunications network;
China - impediments to market access, including high capitalization requirements and limits on joint venture partnerships;
El Salvador - problems interconnecting with a major supplier, Compaa de Telfonos de El Salvador (CTE);
Germany - access to elements of Deutsche Telecom's network;
Guatemala - continued problems interconnecting with major supplier Telgua's network;
Jamaica - concerns related to the application and administration of its universal service program;
Mexico - telecom equipment testing requirements;
Oman - delays in licensing basic telecommunications services; and
Singapore - access to leased lines.
General issues of concern. The USTR states that the 2008 Review also identifies general issues of concern in several countries, including:
regulatory frameworks that hinder the development of competitive telecommunications markets;
elevated mobile termination rates;
continued barriers to use of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology; and
conformity assessment requirements relating to telecommunications and information technology equipment.
2008 Review Identifies Progress in Colombia and India
In addition to the problems identified in the 2008 Review, the USTR also marked progress on issues identified in past years' reviews in key markets, including:
Colombia - for drastically reducing its high licensing fee for long distance service that had long served as a barrier to market entry; and
India - for eliminating its Access Deficit Charge, a fee that increased the costs to U.S. carriers sending telecommunications traffic to India.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 04/17/07 and 04/14/06 news, 07041710 and 06041420, for BP summaries of the USTR's 2007 and 2006 Section 1377 Reviews, respectively.)
USTR contact - Sean Spicer (202) 395-3230
USTR Press Release on the 2008 Section 1377 Review (dated 04/08/08) available at http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Document_Library/Press_Releases/2008/April/asset_upload_file270_14731.pdf
USTR "Full Results" of the 2008 Section 1377 Review available at http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Trade_Sectors/Telecom-E-commerce/Section_1377/asset_upload_file386_14697.pdf