STAKES ARE HIGH FOR TELECOMS AS WTO ROUND APPROACHES END GAME

BY KEITH NUTHALL THIS year could well see the end of the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) Doha Development Round, the global free trade negotiations staged since 2001 - and the stakes for the telecommunications business are high. Unlike most economic sectors, telecoms are affected by not just one WTO agreement on removing trade barriers such as red tape and punishing tariffs, but three: the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS); the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) as regards industrial goods; and the WTO Information Technology Agreement. ...


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