Via Facsimile

The Honorable Charlene Barshefsky

United States Trade Representative

Winder Building

600 17th Street, N.W.

Washington, DC 20506

Dear Ambassador Barshefsky:

In advance of the WTO Seattle Ministerial Meeting, the U.S. Council for International Business (USCIB) appreciates this opportunity to share its views with you regarding basic telecommunications, value-added services, computer and related services, and electronic commerce in the upcoming WTO Services 2000 Negotiations.

Telecommunications plays a critical role in the development of a global information infrastructure and enables electronic commerce by providing the infrastructure upon which all forms of electronic commerce depend. In light of the their far-reaching impact on world trade and commerce, the USCIB believes that basic telecommunications, value-added services, and computer and related services should be given important consideration during the Seattle Ministerial and Services 2000 Negotiations. This letter concerns USCIB member views on these important topics. At the same time, focusing on liberalization of these services in no way diminishes our view of the importance of market liberalization commitments in a broad range of other industry sectors, which are also vital to the development of electronic commerce and the ability to deliver underlying services electronically.

The Seattle Ministerial and Services 2000 Negotiations present important opportunities to improve upon the considerable accomplishments already made on market access and national treatment for basic telecommunications, value-added services, and computer and related services. We therefore urge U.S. negotiators to continue their efforts to broaden and deepen Member Country commitments in these areas. We would also like to reiterate our view that these Negotiations should not be used by WTO Members to weaken existing commitments. Our members appreciate your expression of support on this issue, as conveyed by you in a letter to former USCIB President Abraham Katz late last year. In this letter, you stated that that "the U.S. Government will use all of its efforts to prevent any weakening of telecommunications and value-added services commitments in future services trade talks."

The 1997 Agreement on Basic Telecommunications Services, with its accompanying Reference Paper detailing a set of pro-competitive regulatory principles, were groundbreaking accomplishments for the WTO and the Agreement’s signatories. Value-added and computer and related services commitments resulting from the Uruguay Round Negotiations have also been instrumental in making access to the global information infrastructure more affordable and more widely available. The Services 2000 Negotiations can build upon these successes.

More specifically, for the upcoming Negotiations, it is our view that minimum meaningful basic telecommunications commitments should include:

• Specifying a date certain for full market liberalization;

• Removing foreign ownership restrictions; and

• Adopting the WTO Reference Paper on Basic Telecommunications in its entirety.

Furthermore, the USCIB urges WTO Member Countries:

• That have scheduled basic telecommunications commitments to effectively implement them, including the WTO Reference Paper;

• That have scheduled basic telecommunications commitments but have not signed-on to the Reference Paper to do so;

• That have not yet scheduled meaningful market-opening commitments for basic telecommunications to do so;

• That have not yet scheduled meaningful market-opening commitments for value-added services and/or computer and related services to do so; and

• To include as one of their highest negotiating priorities in any WTO accession protocol, adoption by the acceding party of meaningful market opening commitments in basic telecommunications, value-added services, and computer and related services.

Finally, the USCIB strongly supports the following goals for electronic commerce at the Seattle Ministerial:

• Making permanent the current standstill on imposing custom duties on electronic transmissions to help ensure that electronic commerce achieves its full potential;

• Affirming that current WTO obligations, rules, disciplines and commitments made under GATT, GATS and TRIPS are technology neutral and therefore apply to electronic commerce;

• Agreeing to refrain from enacting measures that have the effect of impeding, actually or potentially, international e-commerce;

• Further agreeing that, when governments do enact measures that may impede or threaten to impede international e-commerce, the measures will use the least trade-restrictive means and be consistent with fundamental principles of international trade law, whether or not such measures are subject to specific obligations under the WTO, including:

• National treatment/non-discrimination;

• Most Favored Nation;

• Transparency, including with respect to domestic regulation; and

• Notification, review, and consultation.

In closing, I would like to thank you and your colleagues on behalf of the USCIB for your continuing efforts to advance telecommunications, value-added services, and computer and related services liberalization and to create a competitive electronic commerce environment worldwide. We look forward to a successful WTO Ministerial and commencement of the Services 2000 Negotiations.

Sincerely,

Thomas M.T. Niles

President