NAFTA Renegotiation Done Right Could Benefit Telecom Sector, Brookings Fellow Says

If the Trump administration pushes through a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, it should be mindful of implications for telecom, said Stuart Brotman, nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, in a blog post. The telecom provisions have probably done more good than harm, Brotman wrote Friday. “They include a ‘bill of rights’ for providers and users of telecommunications services that cover access to public telecommunications services; connection to private lines that reflect economic costs and availability of flat-rate pricing; and the right to choose, purchase, or lease terminal equipment.” One approach would be to take the telecom provisions off the table, but a better path might be to expand their scope to focus on trade barriers, Brotman said. “Barriers such as international roaming rates for mobile calls, restrictions on cross-border transfer of digital information (such as electronic payments and digital signatures), and the forced localization of data centers have a detrimental impact on American companies,” he wrote. “The Trump administration would be well-advised to advocate for a broader bill of rights that adheres to the notion of freedom of choice. It should uphold the ability of U.S. companies to offer their world-class information services in Canada and Mexico. Such a position may be easier to gain in a renegotiated agreement since the other items on the NAFTA version 2.0 agenda (e.g., tariffs) undoubtedly will receive greater scrutiny and are likely to be far more contentious.”