Liberalizing Telecommunications and the Role of the World Trade Organization

February 15, 1997, will be remembered as a landmark date in the history of the multilateral trade system. On that day, sixty-nine governments formalized commitments to liberalize their basic telecommunications services under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The resulting Decision on Commitments in Basic Telecommunications has both symbolic and practical meaning. The final act of the Uruguay Round in Marrakech in 1994, giving birth to the World Trade Organization (WTO), was described by many as the beginning of a new era in international trade rules. The agreement on basic telecommunications can be characterized as the first major accomplishment of this new era. Moreover, it will foster the liberalization of telecommunications, bringing significant benefits for industrial and developing countries alike.