 | |
| |
TechnologyDaily Mobile
Trade Negotiators Seek E-Commerce Input
by William New
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a call for private-sector experts in e-commerce to advise officials negotiating the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).
The FTAA process includes a unique public-private committee of experts on e-commerce that meets periodically on a range of topics. The joint committee is the only FTAA group to allow private-sector input during discussions, but it is technically a non-negotiating group.
The committee seeks fair representation from as many of the 34 countries in the negotiations as possible, but historically, more experts have been found in the United States and Canada. The Canadian government is heading the group through October 2002, and a Peruvian private-sector representative is the vice chairman.
The United States' lead official on the group is Walter Bastian, the Commerce Department's acting deputy assistant secretary. Private-sector experts who want to advise the group should contact USTR by Sept. 13, according to the Aug. 29 Federal Register notice.
The committee makes recommendations to trade ministers at the ministers' meeting every 18 months. The next such meeting will be in October 2002. At the last meeting of the e-commerce committee in July, members reached a consensus on issues for future discussion. The topics include the "digital divide," consumer protection and e-government.
Last year, 19 U.S. private-sector representatives participated in the committee. Typically, experts will attend only meetings focused on their areas of expertise.
Study On U.S.-Mexico Relations Targets Digital Divide
Just in time for the state visit of Mexican President Vicente Fox on Wednesday, the U.S.-Mexico Binational Council on Tuesday released a report identifying the emerging technological and telecommunications gap between the United States and Mexico as a critical area.
The authors of the report, entitled "New Horizons in U.S.-Mexico Relations," recommended that the gap be narrowed to avoid potential consequences "ranging from deepening social inequalities to a general loss of efficiency in Mexico's public and private sectors, as well as [the] inability for Mexico to conduct international business."
Sponsors of the council include the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the Centro de Investigacion para el Desarollo (Research Center for Development), the Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico (Autonomous Institute of Technology of Mexico) and the University of Texas at Austin.
Armand Peschard-Sverdrup, the director of the CSIS Mexico Project, told National Journal's Technology Daily that Fox has discussed the digital divide with President Bush. He said that it is on his agenda because he views closing the divide not only as a way to bridge the gap between the United States and Mexico but as a way to bridge the gap between north and south in Mexico, where the south lags in technological development.
Fox launched an eMexico program to address the issue domestically and an e-government program to make government more accessible, Peschard-Sverdrup said. Getting Mexico up to speed digitally would help U.S. industry at the same time by reinforcing education and combating corruption in Mexico, as well as helping government provide better services, he said.
The report recommends that the science and technology advisers of Fox and Bush ask private-sector experts to design a program to harmonize both countries' e-commerce standards and disseminate Internet technology throughout educational institutions in both nations. It also recommends that Mexico sign the World Trade Organization's Information Technology Agreement (ITA), under which tariffs on numerous IT products are lifted.
Bush, Fox Unlikely To Make Tech A Priority
Despite past pressure to address U.S. industry concerns about Mexico's failure to sign the ITA and about protecting intellectual property rights, Bush does not appear to be planning to raise those issues with Fox this week. While the two leaders will discuss economics and trade, the dominant theme of their get-together will be immigration, the drug war and other foreign policy issues, sources said.
Tim Bennett, the vice president of the electronics trade group AeA, said industry members still want Mexico to sign the ITA. One incentive for Mexico, Bennett said, is that a duty-free exception under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for the foreign-owned assembly plants along the U.S.-Mexican border known as maquiladoras has expired, and the number of products eligible for duty-free treatment under the ITA is broader than under NAFTA.
But Mexico might continue to resist joining the ITA until competitors China and Taiwan become WTO members because Mexico retains an advantage over those nations in access to the U.S. market.
Mexico is the only WTO member that has not completed a bilateral trade agreement with China, which is necessary for China's accession to the world body. Sources said it would be a topic of discussion in the WTO China working party meeting scheduled for Sept. 13 in Geneva.
Industry Decries Piracy In Mexico
An industry source concerned with intellectual property protection said the situation in Mexico is deteriorating, with police protections lagging. Mexico is a key market for U.S.-copyrighted products, and the industry remains hopeful that Fox will show "visible leadership" and take measures to address piracy, the source said.
According to the International Intellectual Property Alliance, much of the Mexican market is dominated by piracy, including 63 percent of sound recordings and music, 56 percent of business software, 45 percent of home videos and as much as 90 percent of entertainment software. Copyright industries estimated losses from Mexican piracy in 2000 at $525 million.
U.S. industry officials stress that Mexican artists also are harmed by copyright theft and that the number of prosecutions in Mexico has dropped.
Evans To Lead Trip To Russia
Commerce Secretary Donald Evans will lead a senior-level business development mission to Moscow on Oct. 14-16, with the aim of exploring trade and investment opportunities. The delegation will consist of about 15 U.S.-based senior executives of small, medium and large U.S. firms from the technology, engineering, aerospace, energy and service sectors, among others.
Commerce said there are signs of economic improvement in Russia but noted several limitations, including insufficient protection of intellectual property rights and lack of enforcement of court judgments and arbitral awards. Commerce will choose company officials for the trip based on applications received by Wednesday, with some consideration given after that date.
Companies Urged To Snag New Domains
Speednames, a registrar of domain names, said a Gallup Research Group survey showed that 78 percent of businesses have not applied for the new .biz and .info domain-name suffixes scheduled to go live in a few weeks. The registrar urged companies to apply for Internet addresses based on their names, brands, trademarks and patents.
Martin Roll, Speednames' vice president, called the numbers of firms that have not applied "alarming," and said companies should register now to prevent costly and time-consuming court battles later.
NEW FEATURE
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
