[governance] New report makes clear upcoming WCIT proposals could conflict with WTO Members' obligations
Nick Ashton-Hart
nashton at ccianet.org
Fri Nov 30 00:16:03 EST 2012
In this context it is important because non-compliance, as we know, can result in a DSU action. The WTO agreements are enforceable; the ITRs are not. Keeping the Internet out of the ITRs is a good way to ensure that WTO Members who are also adhering to the ITRs don't inadvertently create a non-compliance problem for themselves.
On 29 Nov 2012, at 19:24, Riaz K Tayob <riaz.tayob at gmail.com> wrote:
> What makes WTO compliance such an important issue? should it b econtested?
>
> In health, when the WHO failed to make explicit that poor countries could legally copy (in spite of patents) medicines for public health reasons millions died from treatable HIV etc, etc...
>
> There competing international law regimes, and they are simply not all coherent... why cohere to WTO instead of UDHR?
> On 2012/11/29 10:23 AM, Adam Peake wrote:
>> And features in the USA proposal and principles Australia has said
>> should guide the ITRs
>>
>> "6. Proposals are consistent with WTO Agreements, in particular the
>> General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)."
>>
>> Europe makes the same point, but about commitments member states have
>> to EC treaties, rules etc.
>>
>> Going to be a complicated 8 days of negotiation.
>>
>> Adam
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Nov 29, 2012 at 1:36 PM, Suresh Ramasubramanian
>> <suresh at hserus.net> wrote:
>>> Israel's recent submission to wcit is of interest ..
>>>
>>> http://news.dot-nxt.com/itu/wcit/c28
>>>
>>> ● ITRs must not trump trade rules. Secure the overarching principle that
>>> the ITRs shall not override any commitment made in the WTO, GATS or any
>>> trade agreement.
>>>
>>> Jeanette Hofmann [28/11/12 16:46 +0100]:
>>>
>>>> Hi Nick,
>>>>
>>>> conflicts between international treaties are not that unusual. Given the
>>>> increasing density of international organizations and agreements, and the
>>>> lack of any formal hierarchy among them legal inconsistencies happen more
>>>> often than one may expect. An example that involves the WTO concerns
>>>> intellectual property rights. TRIPS and CBD, the convention on biological
>>>> diversity imply conflicting principles. They were negotiated around the same
>>>> time but reflect different concerns, actors and venues. The fact that trade
>>>> experts and WCIT advocates hardly take notice of each other seems to make
>>>> conflicting outcomes even more likely.
>>>>
>>>> jeanette
>>>>
>>>> Am 28.11.2012 16:02, schrieb Nick Ashton-Hart:
>>>>> Dear Friends,
>>>>>
>>>>> I thought I would write to advise you of an important report, just
>>>>> released today by LIRNEasia and ECIPE, that makes clear that a number of
>>>>> the proposals being put before the World Conference on International
>>>>> Telecommunications (WCIT) this month in Dubai could result in conflicts
>>>>> for WTO member-states.
>>>>>
>>>>> Entitled “Whither Global Rules for the Internet? The implications of the
>>>>> World Conference on International Telecommunication (WCIT) for
>>>>> international trade,” it was released publicly today at 1400 Central
>>>>> European Time.
>>>>>
>>>>> This report is the first to look at current proposals for WCIT and
>>>>> whether they are congruent with binding rules on trade developed at the
>>>>> World Trade Organisation. Among the report’s key conclusions:
>>>>>
>>>>> *
>>>>> Proposals being made by governments for the World Conference on
>>>>> International Telecommunications (WCIT) do not adequately take into
>>>>> account their commitments under the World Trade Organization (WTO)
>>>>> and its General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS);
>>>>> *
>>>>> WTO member-countries have made commitments that forbid them from
>>>>> imposing restrictions on the most common forms of Internet services
>>>>> that would likely be broken were proposals in front of the upcoming
>>>>> conference to be agreed to.
>>>>> *
>>>>> All WTO member-states must abide by a moratorium on tariffs and
>>>>> equivalent fees on data transmissions that explicitly forbids access
>>>>> fees for data whether they are discriminatory or not. Some
>>>>> proposals, such as those promoted by some European
>>>>> telecommunications operators, would likely conflict with this
>>>>> obligation.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Matthias and I have found when we meet with the trade community in
>>>>> Geneva that there's little awareness of the trade dimension to WCIT
>>>>> proposals. Obviously it is in nobody's interest for WCIT to result in
>>>>> ITRs that conflict with WTO obligations.
>>>>>
>>>>> The report may be found here:
>>>>> http://www.ecipe.org/media/publication_pdfs/PB201212b.pdf.
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Regards,
>>>>>
>>>>> Nick Ashton-Hart
>>>>> Geneva Representative
>>>>> Computer & Communcations Industry Association (CCIA)
>>>>> Tel: +41 (22) 534 99 45
>>>>> Fax: : +41 (22) 594-85-44
>>>>> Mobile: +41 79 595 5468
>>>>> USA Tel: +1 (202) 640-5430
>>>>> email/IM (Jabber/GTalk): nashton at ccianet.org <mailto:nashton at ccianet.org>
>>>>> Skype: nashtonhart
>>>>> http://www.ccianet.org <http://www.ccianet.org/>
>>>>>
>>>>> Need to schedule a meeting or call with me? Feel free to pick a time and
>>>>> date convenient for you at http://meetme.so/nashton
>>>>>
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