(covering 48 governments) by the time they were originally scheduled to end in April 1996. Ministers hoped that through the extension more liberalization could be market access offers. Round. shall give special consideration to opportunities for the least-developed countries to members in lists of m.f.n. The negotiations began in May 1994, initially with the application of Article III of the Agreement, each Member shall ensure that relevant negotiations on trade in basic telecommunications beyond the Uruguay open for acceptance until 30 November 1997. Access to and use of Public Telecommunications 1997 onwards), Unilateral or new accession commitments (basic Developments that termination points. accounting rates, in bilateral agreements with other operators or countries -- an issue Member's schedule of commitments; not only be value-added and competing basic Group agreed to modify the rules on participation in meetings so that all WTO Members had The schedules were discussed at length during the negotiations. also addressed in the final Report on the Group. Member's market. M.f.n. wish to take advantage of market access commitments made by WTO Member. Relation to Concerns On 15 February, nine governments submitted m.f.n. telecommunications) notifications from a specific country) add transparency, requires governments to make public their laws, rules and regulations back to text. wished to preserve the results achieved so far in the negotiations. 2. (g) date. commitments. Home | About WTO | News & events | Trade topics | WTO membership | Documents & resources | External relations, Contact us | Site map | A-Z | Search, espaol particularly developing countries, is essential to the expansion of their trade in Post-Uruguay as soon as Guatemala ratifies it), (the schedule will be annexed to the Fourth protocol as soon as annexes to the GATS concern particular service sectors -- such as air transport, financial Papua New Guinea ratifies it), (the 44 out of the 48 governments submitting offers included commitments on (b) (b) Members WTO successfully their positions on market access and m.f.n. observers to WTO bodies, ITU has is an observer to the Council for Trade in Services. On the equipment side, the GATT schedules of tariff concessions and developments 5. They also define the specific commitments to be inscribed in schedules and (iii) to WTO) requested to participate with observer status. commitments already in force since the Uruguay Round concluded in 1994. successful outcome, participants devoted the remainder of the year to the establishment of the Council for Trade in Services. schedules, a Member's commitments for particular services are to be "phased in". search engine. Certain inter-operability of telecommunication networks and services and undertake to promote such re-examine their positions on market access and m.f.n. unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade in services. services and developments in telecommunications and information technology to assist in concluded nearly three years of extended negotiations on market access for basic This compares favourable with the April1996 results, when requirements relating to the attachment of such equipment to such networks; (v) the regulatory implications of next generation IP-enabled networks. telecommunications transport networks or services not offered to the public generally. recognize the role played by intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and multilateral trading system. Annex shall apply to all measures of a Member that affect access to and use of public services. (after 1995), GATS/SC/131 (complete (1994-1995), Commitments annexed to the Fourth Protocol on Basic The negotiations began in May1994, Dominica ratifies it), (complete However, the participants chose to include them in their offers. 1. Philippines ratify it) b, GATS/SC/119 (complete Commitments public generally. attachments to the Protocol. inter-connection with such networks and services; (iii) 7. link to access the WTO document database. shall encourage and support telecommunications cooperation among developing countries at large and small from virtually every region of the world also took part as did six of the simply the relay of voice or data from sender to But even if it files an exemption, a Member may only services, or telecommunications for which suppliers "add value" to the the obligations of this Annex are applied with respect to suppliers of They also agreed that each would use the text as a a full voice in its activities and only those governments under accession to the WTO (a) Members organizations participate as observers in each others' meetings and Participants accepted the Director-General's proposal in a receiver). See also: individually whether or not to file an m.f.n. services to the public generally. On that date, the schedules on basic telecommunication services of the jurisdiction) to establish, construct, acquire, lease, operate or supply , conducting domestic procedures, if necessary, for accepting the Protocol For example, during 2006 the the sale or lease of transmission capacity), fixed insert the codes indicated in the document symbol window of the This had resulted in offers from 48 governments (contained in 34 offers), but some saw the (ii) to (complete URcommitments including value-added transport networks and services is publicly available, including: tariffs and other terms ratifies it), (complete schedule including telecommunications), (complete accession schedule including telecommunications), (the schedule will be annexed to the Fourth protocol as soon as multilateral level, the results of the telecommunications negotiations are to be extended Another 24 governments (including some in the process of accession to the recognize the importance of international standards for global compatibility and participate fully in the Group. apply it to unscheduled services or to grant special preferences over and above the market For these purposes, telecommunications services both public and private that involve end-to-end transmission the form or content of the customer's information. reasonable and non-discriminatory basis. or voice mail) More commonly liberalized than basic services, value added services are telecommunications transport networks and services for the movement of information within For these, while the schedule formally entered into One by Turkey relates to two neighbouring countries, of services commitments submitted by each member are considered an integral part of the negotiations. Home | About WTO | News & events | Trade topics | WTO membership | Documents & resources | External relations, Contact us | Site map | A-Z | Search, espaol introduced, the frequent presence of telecom providers with a dominant market share and ITU Study Groups and Expert Meetings, including, for example, one on related to establishing a regulatory environment conducive to market entry were discussed stations. April. value-added or enhanced telecommunications services, since basic telecommunications were By the February 1997 could take into account some of the reforms under way in telecommunications regulatory (the schedule will be annexed to the Fourth protocol as soon as As a result, market access commitments The Decision affirmed the participants met monthly and held numerous bilateral negotiations on their take measures that reduce the level of access inscribed in their schedules. Another 24 governments (including some in the process of machine-readable form in the territory of any Member. the exceptions to the GATS which are permitted under specified circumstances. Such services may include, inter alia, telegraph, telephone, access to and use of public telecommunications transport networks and services on an open-ended possibility to negotiate commitments on measures affecting trade in services collaborate at the staff level on such activities as research, (contained in 34 offers), but some saw the package as not yet sufficient Finally, there are provisions for dispute settlement and exemption lists to be annexed to the Protocol. An exemption by Antigua and Barbuda back to text under negotiation were voice telephony, data transmission, telex, telegraph, facsimile, legal basis for the negotiations made it possible for each WTO Member to decide and ITU is mandated in the reference to a paragraph or subparagraph of this Annex includes all subdivisions thereof. will cover not only cross-border supply of telecommunications but also services provided access to and use of public basic telecommunications, both networks and services, on understood to refer to most-favoured-nation and national treatment as leading service sectors included in schedules are considered intensive users of insert the codes indicated in the document symbol window of the as soon as Guatemala ratifies it) b, GATS/SC/44 only accession schedule including telecommunications) v, GATS/SC/132 (complete = value-added telecommunications. financial services, tourism, and transport. schedule including basic telecommunications), (complete Home | About WTO | News & events | Trade topics | WTO membership | Documents & resources | External relations, Contact us | Site map | A-Z | Search, espaol suggested attaching the results to a Protocol and the establishment of a measures are necessary. See and the needs of the regulators and public telecommunications operators to maintain a in telecommunications services, both basic and value-added, within the ambit of the new directly to consumers. at length during the negotiations. accession schedule including telecommunications) b+v, GATS/SC/118/Suppl.1 schedule including telecommunications), GATS/SC/129 (complete attachments to the Protocol. regulatory disciplines and only 31 of these inscribed the Reference Paper. Some apply only to the sectors or The sectors most frequently listed in schedules were, in > ITU strengthening their domestic telecommunications services sector. and intellectual property rights. group called the Negotiating Group on Basic Telecommunications (NGBT). and which is necessary to supply a supplier's services; (ii) to By April, the talks To this end, Members endorse and encourage the participation, to the fullest negotiations and the commitments of 69 of these governments (contained in 55 schedules) New commitments replace or supplement old basic telecommunications sector. numbering) when viewed through the browser. After April, a new body the Group on Basic Telecommunications (GBT) Papua New Guinea ratifies it) b, GATS/SC/70/Suppl.2 (the Participation in the NGBT Intra-corporate (complete accession schedule including telecommunications) b+v, GATS/SC/24 only M.f.n. services, in particular the International Telecommunication Union. That of Brazil relates to the distribution of radio or television programming made legally binding commitments to provide specified levels of access to trade in each matters arising from the implementation of this Annex. Many of the to be phased in. At the meeting in April 1996, WTO Director-General Ruggiero said he The talks resumed in July 1996 and then in the autumn of 1996 Article VIII on monopolies and 1995-99 br>. Any new or amended measures of a agreements in ensuring the efficient operation of domestic and global telecommunications franais, v restrictions on resale or shared use of such services; (ii) a services (56 schedules since the EU Member States submit a single schedule). A total of 71 governments tabled offers by the close of the Annex shall not apply to measures affecting the cable or broadcast distribution of radio WTO is also an observer at the ITU. The WTO is included in its Schedule. relevant. General Member shall ensure that service suppliers of any other Member may use public company communicates within the company or with or among its subsidiaries, branches and, back economic activities, the Members have agreed to the following Annex with the objective of protect the technical integrity of public telecommunications transport networks or safeguard the public service responsibilities of suppliers of public telecommunications The articles of can do business. Included in these was a decision to extend One of the The Decision affirmed the opportunity to negotiate further to schedule including telecommunications), GATS/SC/99 (complete franais. be observed. specificities of the telecommunications services sector and, in particular, its dual role This Group agreed to modify the rules on participation in accession schedule including telecommunications) b+v, GATS/SC/13/Suppl.2 (the (complete schedule including telecommunications), GATS/SC/33 (complete The articles Then, there is the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), which put trade The GATS Renato Ruggiero's speeches, obligation (these were inscribed by some It requires each Member to ensure Many participants was voluntary and, by the end of April, 53 WTO Member governments had decided to (d) Reference Paper. The ministerial decisions related to services was adopted at the Marrakesh Ministerial Meeting services by users rather than the ability to enter markets to sell such services; the contain each Member's commitments on market access and national treatment, and can also Agreement. customer's information by enhancing its form or content or by providing for its storage telecommunications services. He equal to its own nationals. (meaning essentially basic public telecommunications). Collaboration has included joint workshops such as: ITU/WTO Workshop on Telecom and ICT regulation, Observer status On the Services. negotiations on trade in basic telecommunications beyond the Uruguay Round. search in the WTO on-line database for documents on services, follow this a number of schedules, a Member's commitments for particular services are and/or value-added telecommunications) Telecommunication Union and the International Organization for Standardization. Additional commitments (Article XVIII), create From this perspective, several of the agreements which the WTO oversees are commitments in schedules as a way of safeguarding the value of paragraph of an ICT Regulation Toolkit being prepared by the ITU. market access offers. telecommunications transport networks and services.(1). requirements, where necessary, for the inter-operability of such services and to encourage the achievement of the goals set out in paragraph7(a); (iv) type general obligations of the GATS are of particular relevance to telecommunications. commitments already in force since the Uruguay Round concluded in 1994. caps on foreign equity participation. telex, and data transmission typically involving the real-time transmission of that they satisfy the criteria set out in paragraph (e), conditions for access to and use package as not yet sufficient to successfully complete the talks. December 1996 WTO Ministerial Meeting in Singapore and returned to Geneva the Reference Paper. Once in force, the schedules on notification, registration and licensing. regimes and rapid advances in technology. telecommunications infrastructure and expansion of their telecommunications services to which the schedules and m.f.n. infrastructure which permits telecommunications between and among defined network telecommunications transport networks and services and other entities in the development formally consists of 29 articles, 8 annexes, and 130 schedules of commitments (each WTO to all WTO members on a non-discriminatory basis through m.f.n. on 30 April, WTO Director-General Ruggiero said he wished to preserve the results achieved (a) scheduled to formally enter into force on 1 January 1998. schedule will be annexed to the Fourth protocol as soon as Brazil and the independence of regulators in a commonly negotiated text called accession to the WTO) requested to participate with observer status. 57 of these committing to the Reference Paper in whole or with a few This paragraph is understood to mean that each Member shall ensure that services. (b) services, and telecommunications. disciplines in the Annex will be firms that supply any of the services included in a require a Member to authorize a service supplier of any other Member to establish, basic telecommunications services. publications, conferences and workshops. goods). paragraph operating protocols of the service supplier's choice in the supply of any service, other Without an m.f.n. domestic telecommunications infrastructure and service capacity and to increase its communications in this Annex excludes commercial or non-commercial services that are Each Member shall ensure that any service supplier of any other Member is accorded these obligations whether or not they have liberalized or scheduled commitments in the result of the Uruguay Round and the accession of new WTO Members since the end of the By April, the talks had resulted in offers from 48 governments These negotiations are just now beginning. obligations strike a fragile balance between the needs of users for fair terms of access Collaboration between WTO GATS Annex on Telecommunications para 6. processing, on-line data base storage and retrieval, electronic data interchange, e-mail The cooperation with relevant international organizations, Members shall make available, where interconnect private leased or owned circuits with public telecommunications transport ensure that service suppliers of any other Member do not supply services unless permitted treatment and modify their WTO Secretariat provided technical and drafting comments on portions They also maintained informal contacts at the December 1996 WTO All of these agreements taken together, and in particular the The world's industrialized countries all participated in the deal Renato Ruggiero's speeches, Conference, mandated to meet once every two years, a General Council that meets more order: tourism, financial services, and business services, followed closely by transport specified in the schedule. that are not expressly captured by market access and national treatment. Consult the Guide to downloading files. schedule including basic telecommunications) b+v, European Communities and their Member States, GATS/SC/31 (f) Provided Fourth Protocol, to which the schedules and MFN exemptions lists tabled in Bank for Reconstruction and Development. treat the services or service suppliers of every other Member as favourably as those of affecting trade in services, so that service suppliers can know the rules under which they suppliers, and for access to information contained in data bases or otherwise stored in Home | About WTO | News & events | Trade topics | WTO membership | Documents & resources | External relations, Contact us | Site map | A-Z | Search, espaol exclusive service providers and Article IX on restrictive business practices are relevant addressed by commitments entered in the schedules. They also maintained informal contacts at the National treatment (Article XVII) is defined as one-month period early in 1997 during which participants could re-examine of the signing of the Final Act in Marrakesh in April 1994, 125 countries were treatment prohibits Members from discriminating among themselves, or in fact from Examples of the services (the schedule will be annexed to the Fourth protocol as soon as under way in telecommunications regulatory regimes and rapid advances in This is because the Annex addresses access to these The WTO also participated in Central and Eastern European economies in transition. processes, and the independence of regulators in a commonly negotiated text called the International Organizations and AgreementsBack to top. ORGANIZATIONS. schedule will be annexed to the Fourth protocol as soon as the services by geostationary satellites. Finally, To treatment is the cornerstone of multilateralism, without it the WTO would be little more backtotop The annex In the GATS Under the cooperation agreement cooperation agreement between was responsible for implementing the further extension of treatment. (complete schedule including telecommunications) b+v, GATS/SC/130 some articles mandate further negotiations, e.g., the articles on government procurement, They also agreed that basic telecommunications services provided over network (c) In (vi) technology. date for such commitments will be on the date specified in the schedule. when the European Union, the United States and the Slovak Republic became the first to (d) Members Nevertheless, a few on general obligations and principles vary in character. Decision directed the negotiations to conclude by 30 April 1996. are offered to customers or potential customers. progressively expanded and liberalized. services; or. might be inscribed as additional commitments in schedules (an approach made possible by Decision adopted 30 April by the Council for Trade in Services. require a Member (or to require a Member to oblige service suppliers under its accorded to any other user of like public telecommunications transport of their April 1996 offers. Secretariat by the new World Trade Organization (WTO) with a strengthened mandate and a franais, WORK WITH OTHER INTERNATIONAL full list of schedule including telecommunications), Separate enables the Government to extend to nationals of other Caricom-Member countries treatment (b) This treating other members less favourably than any other country, member or not. (d) appropriate arrangements, where relevant, for consultation with such organizations on composed of seven sections, but its core obligations are contained in a section on access The schedules paging, and personal communications systems. the project was provided by the World Bank-managed Information for affiliates shall be as defined by each Member. requirement to use specified technical interfaces, including interface protocols, for and retrieval were not formally part of the extended negotiations. Accordingly, this purchase or lease and attach terminal or other equipment which interfaces with the network At the outset try to secure improvements and established 15 February 1997 as the closing The Protocol and its annexed documents are deadline, 63 of the 69 governments submitting schedules included commitments on regulatory were made by most countries representing major markets for telecommunications services. Notwithstanding the preceding paragraphs of this section, a developing country Member may, Participants succeeded in elaborating a set of principles covering matters such as competition defined in the Agreement, as well as to reflect sector-specific usage of in Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (Standards) are important. to and use of public telecommunications transport networks and services. 1996. Procurement Code and the new rules on trade related aspects of intellectual property dispute settlement mechanism. than an overseer of special bilateral and regional trade deals. disciplines, with 57 of these committing to the Reference Paper in whole or with a few N.B. frequently, a Dispute Settlement Body and three subsidiary Councils-- on services, goods Member significantly affecting such use shall be notified and shall be subject to ratifies it) b+v, GATS/SC/122 (complete Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, 1. (GBT) -- was responsible for implementing the further extension of negotiations. accession schedule including telecommunications) v, GATS/SC/127 (complete After April, a new body -- the Group on Basic Telecommunications rights. search in the WTO on-line database for documents on services, follow. A set of which closed the Uruguay Round in April 1994. website, > granted to domestic services or suppliers. (c)Public the international, regional and sub-regional levels. Each Member shall ensure that service suppliers of any other Member have access to allow some remaining participants to complete ratification. only those governments under accession to the WTO participated, upon technology, training and other activities that support the development of their He suggested attaching the results to a Protocol and the (a) Members regulatory disciplines to undertake as additional commitments. informal background for information purposes only. At a meeting WTO news The matters such as competition safeguards, interconnection guarantees, transparent licensing By the February 1997 deadline, 63 of the 69 governments It should not be cited or quoted as an All schedules of industrialized countries contain commitments on Through successive rounds of negotiations, these commitments are to be Whether full or limited access is granted, Members may not participation in international trade in telecommunications services. affecting such access and use; conditions applying to attachment of terminal or other opportunity to negotiate further to try to secure improvements and established 15 February Member shall ensure that no condition is imposed on access to and use of public of the search engine. and across borders, including for intra-corporate communications of such service be specified in the Member's Schedule. > so far in the negotiations. Public telecommunications transport service means any telecommunications of these inscribed the Reference Paper.