Prospects good for telecoms agreement

Date: 30/01/1997

WITHIN two months, 125 members of the WTO should have agreed to liberalise markets worth almost a trillion ecu. “That is more trade than you would open up in a whole round,” said Ruggiero. “It is really fantastic.”

WTO members have until 15 February to come to an agreement on basic telecommunications - ending limits on the foreign ownership of operators, establishing regulatory bodies and permitting access to networks for new companies.

The talks stumbled recently after the French government voiced concerns that vague wording in the draft accords could make the information superhighway a pathway for the import of US-made online content into European homes and offices.

But after the progress that was made at the WTO ministerial meeting in Singapore, Ruggiero is optimistic about a deal.

“All the elements are there to give a hopeful signal,” he said. “We have to assume that this time there will be a happy conclusion to the negotiations, but you should never assume that something is in your pocket until it is.”

The hoped-for completion of the telecoms talks will be followed by the deadline, on 15 March, for a deal on an Information Technology Agreement (ITA).

This accord is intended to scrap tariffs on IT products, computer software and hardware, semiconductors and telecoms equipment by the end of the century.

“I hope we can see a successful conclusion of both negotiations,” said the director-general. “These are all the technologies of our future.”