Results of the 2015 Section 1377 Review of Telecommunications Trade Agreements
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) annually reviews the operation and effectiveness of U.S. telecommunications trade agreements and the presence or absence of other mutually advantageous market opportunities, pursuant to Section 1377 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988.1 The list of trade agreements containing requirements relevant to telecommunications and technology includes the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT), the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico, the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) with Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic, and bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) with Australia, Bahrain, Chile, Colombia, Israel, Jordan, Korea, Morocco, Oman, Panama, Peru, and Singapore.
The Section 1377 Review (Review) is based on public comments filed by interested parties and information developed from ongoing contact with stakeholders and foreign government representatives in various countries. This year USTR received five comments and one reply comment from the private sector, and one reply comment from a foreign government. All public comments are available at the following web site: www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2014-0022.