LIBERALIZING INTERNATIONAL-TRADE IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES

Advances in telecommunications technology have created market opportunities that revolutionize the way firms do business. New technologies like fiber optics now permit competition between telecommunications firms where monopolies previously dominated, and companies compete for access to foreign markets and negotiate trade agreements that bring in profits using tools formerly reserved for trade politicians. What was once a regulatory area, telecommunications services are becoming a market access issue addressed under General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). © 1993.