USTR Targets Non-Tariff Barriers to US Telecommunications Exports

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) outlined on April 4 the non-tariff barriers U.S. telecommunications service and equipment suppliers companies face when exporting goods and services. According to a release, USTR will target its efforts to address the following trade barriers:

• The government of Pakistan has not fully addressed efforts by local participants to create a cartel for the provision of international calls, limiting opportunities for U.S. telecommunications companies to provide this service in Pakistan
• The European Union has proposed to create a Europe-only cloud computing network
• Turkey has blocked numerous Internet-enabled services, affecting legitimate U.S. businesses
• Ongoing restrictions on the provision of voice-over the Internet (VOIP) services in China and India
• Lack of an independent and effective telecommunications regulator in China which limits meaningful market access for companies in China
• Foreign investment limits that distort trade and limit opportunities for U.S. telecommunications companies in foreign markets, in particular China
• Efforts to increase the rates U.S. telecommunications operators must pay in order to connect long-distance calls from the United States in foreign countries (the “termination rate”), resulting in higher costs for U.S. carriers and higher prices for U.S. consumers, in particular in Pakistan, Fiji, Tonga and Uganda
• Concerns about undue restrictions on the ability of U.S. satellite service suppliers to provide satellite transmission capacity to customers in both China and India
• Progress in U.S. telecommunications suppliers’ ability to obtain competitive access to facilities in India where submarine cables connect to the Indian terrestrial network
• Ongoing concerns with localization requirements, equipment standards, and in Brazil and Indonesia, conformity assessment procedures (including testing requirements) that act as barriers to entry for U.S. telecommunications equipment

“Barriers to trade in telecommunications-related goods and services disproportionately affect U.S. suppliers, given our strong competitive position in these sectors," said USTR chief Michael Froman in the release. "We have made important progress this year in advancing market liberalization in this sector, though we continue to see the emergence of new barriers [to] data flows and other localization requirements.”