Liberalization and regulatory reform of telecom markets has emerged as a high profile policy issue. This paper analyzes how the multilateral system under the World Trade Organization can help developing countries in promoting their own information infrastructures. We focus on a specific ?regime?...

This paper discusses the nature, importance, and measurement of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) in services trade with particular reference to telecommunications services. It is shown that although more effectively addressed for the telecom sector at the multilateral level than for other service...

During the past two decades, international trade in telecommunication services has significantly intensified. What is more, an increasing number of telecommunications operators have begun to expand their activities beyond national borders through FDIs, joint ventures, and cooperation agreements....

This paper looks at the role of the key international agreements in the process of liberalization of the telecommunications industry. We analyse in particular the role of the WTO agreement in furthering liberalization around the world, and the extent to which it provides protection for foreign...

The question of the state and the evolution of protectionism often gets a simplified answer: The main view is that the GATT Rounds have been achieving a continuous reduction. This view is partly revised based on four propositions: (1) Protectionism is an integral part of the international...

Technical standards in telecommunications – the central focus of this paper - were traditionally developed by official government accredited or intergovernmental organizations. In the last two decades, however, private forums and consortia of standardization have evolved which initiated a...

In wenigen Monaten wird in Katar die Ministerkonferenz der Welthandelsorganisation (WTO) über die Abhaltung einer neuen Handelsrunde entscheiden. Auf Grund der gegenwärtigen Vorarbeiten werden zwei Themenkreise auf der Traktandenliste der Verhandlungen erwartet: erstens die weitere Umsetzung...

Based on static analysis, a number of studies argue that forming a RTA is more likely to raise welfare if member countries are ?natural trading partners,? while other studies claim the opposite. This paper considers the argument from a dynamic viewpoint by examining the impact of trade with...

In 2020, EU companies imported intermediate products worth 2.4 trillion euros, which made up more than half of total merchandise imports of the EU. Compared to the pre-crisis year 2019, imports of intermediates decreased by 13 percent, partly driven by the lower fuel prices. A detailed analysis...

The Fourth Session of the Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), held in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001, launched a new round of multilateral trade negotiations (MTN) and a work programme (WP) for the WTO involving the negotiating agenda and steps for meeting the challenges...