Telecom Industry Groups Rail Against Global Trade Barriers

U.S. industry representatives spelled out a laundry list of tariff and nontariff barriers for U.S. telecom exports, ranging from redundant Chinese conformity assessments to Indian duties and Hungarian Internet traffic taxes, in comments filed to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. USTR asked in November for U.S. industry comments on telecom sections in trade agreements. The submission deadline was Friday, and replies are due Dec. 19. The Computer and Communications Industry Association, Telecommunications Industry Association, U.S. Council of International Business and two others filed comments to USTR.

Requirements for use of local materials are damaging U.S. market access in Brazil and Nigeria, while Germany and South Korea continue to put in place discriminatory government procurement policies, TIA said. The Brazilian government required companies to prove local content in “a high percentage of products, equipment, and telecommunications systems” during a September auction for 450 MHz and 2.5 GHz bands, TIA said.

The South Korean government uses a local “cryptographic standard for Internet Protocol telephony,” TIA said. “Rather than relying on indigenous standards to develop specifications for government procurement bids, we would urge the Korean government to utilize internationally developed standards where such relevant international standards exist, per global practices and consistent with the [World Trade Organization Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade].” TIA railed against barriers in seven countries, saying policies in those places violate WTO agreements as well as U.S. free trade agreements and global proliferation pacts. The South Korean government also continues to use a security verification mechanism that may violate the South Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, TIA said. The association said China and India also follow discriminatory testing and assessment procedures, and Russia imposes burdensome import license requirements.

Along with a range of other barriers, the Indian government is leveling a 10 percent increase in tariffs for some telecom products in the country’s FY 2014-15, TIA said, adding that import tariffs are required for various products, such as VoIP. “While the government of India has stated its belief that these products and technologies are not under the purview of the WTO [Information Technology Agreement], TIA’s analysis strongly suggests that these products, regardless of the underlying technology within the products, are covered by the ITA and should continue to receive duty-free treatment,” TIA said.

CCIA rattled off a raft of data localization barriers across the globe, including many of the countries noted by TIA. The U.S. Council of International Business focused on other burdensome and inhibiting regulatory barriers. Trilogy International Partners criticized regulatory burdens in the Dominican Republic and New Zealand. Avantel complained about the regulatory environment for foreign investment in Colombia.