Trade in Services Telecommunications

This chapter focuses on issues of negotiations on trade arrangements for international telecommunications and information services. The first part of the chapter provides background on the major changes that have transformed and globalized communications and information technology during the past two decades. The second part reviews the agreements that came out of the Uruguay Round (1994), including the Basic Telecommunications Agreement (1997) and other international agreements. It also examines the regulatory choices tied to competition and trade in telecommunications services. The third part of the chapter considers the experiences of Ghana and South Korea as they adapted their national systems to the post-1997 telecommunications reality. The final part of the chapter provides an overview of the international telecommunications/IT issues that are under consideration in the Doha Round negotiations. It seeks to explain what the industrial countries are seeking, why they argue that these additional reforms are desirable, and whether and under what circumstances these arguments might make sense to developing countries and their negotiators. The addendum to the chapter discusses the commitments of Costa Rica with regard to telecommunication services in the context of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the United States.