WASHINGTON-The Clinton administration, having shuffled around key leadership in the aftermath of the plane crash that killed Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and 34 others during a Balkan trade mission, is aggressively moving ahead to reach a global telecommunications liberalization accord in Geneva this week and to promote privatization and competition in developing nations at a conference in South Africa in mid-May.
Telecommunications trade talks under auspices of the World Trade Organization are due to end tomorrow in Geneva. The outcome is anything but certain. U.S. negotiators say they have been frustrated with the lack of reciprocity from other nations insofar as getting them to agree to open telecom markets to the degree America is willing to open its own.
Meanwhile, more than 30 countries will be represented at the Information Society and Development Conference, May 13-15, in Midrand, South Africa, just outside of Johannesburg.
“We’re talking about a world in which far too many people lack access to basic telecommunications,” said Larry Irving, chief of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
“We’re talking about an opportunity for the developing world to say what they need to have this happen and, for countries that have the benefit of technology, what will encourage them to do more investment,” he added.
The trade mission, the first since the tragic trip to Bosnia and Croatia to discuss reconstruction of war-ravaged lands, will include representatives from government, private industry and various public sectors.
It is unclear whether Kantor will attend the ISAD conference and what American telecom companies will join Irving at the gathering.
Demonstrations are planned by AT&T Corp., Motorola Inc., Cable and Wireless Inc. (the U.S. unit), Hewlett-Packard Co., Microsoft Corp. and several others.
Countries invited by South Africa to participate include the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, the Russian Federation, Israel, Australia, Egypt, Senegal, Ghana, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Morocco, Mauritius, Angola, Gabon, Kenya, Palestine, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Malaysia, India, Vietnam, Peoples Republic of China, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Columbia and one country from the Caribbean.
The White House’s decision to move Mickey Kantor from U.S. trade representative to Commerce Department head and to promote Charlene Barshefsky from deputy U.S. trade representative to the top spot at USTR, keeps experienced trade officials with proven track records in place at a time when the administration is pushing hard for privatization and open telecom markets around the world as part of the so-called Global Information Infrastructure initiative.
Kantor, for his part, succeeded in persuading Japan to open its cellular and personal handyphone system markets.
While Kantor is expected to pass muster with the Senate, Barshefsky could face problems because of an untested year-old law that Senate Majority Leader and presumptive GOP presidential nominee Robert Dole (R-Kan.) added to lobbying legislation last year that forbids anyone who has represented a foreign company in trade matters with the United States from being U.S. trade representative.
Barshefsky, while an international trade specialist at the Washington, D.C. law firm of Steptoe and Johnson, effectively represented Canadian timber interests during a trade dispute with the United States.
The changing of the guard at USTR and the Commerce Department is more about style than substance. Kantor lacks the polished, persuasive charm of a Ron Brown, but more than makes up for that in tenacity and legal acumen.
Barshefsky is viewed every bit as tough as her predecessor, and has a cool, articulate demeanor that eludes the straight-talking Kantor.
That she can hold her own in trade negotiations, without giving an inch, earned Barshefsky the moniker “Stonewall” at USTR.
“There is no question that policy at USTR will continue as it has continued for the past three years,” said Barshefsky at a press briefing last week. “We expect to be able to obtain the same market access opportunities in foreign markets for our goods and services*…*as they have in the United States.”
With respect to WTO telecommunications talks, Barshefsky said, “The U.S. has the broadest and deepest offer on the table now. Step one for the U.S. is to have the European Union match our offer. If the European Union won’t or can’t that is a disincentive to other countries coming forward with vastly improved offers, which has to occur if these negotiations are to succeed by the deadline on April 30.”
Barshefsky said she has met several times with Leon Brittan, minister of trade for the EU, and is hopeful of seeing a “vastly improved European offer.” Meanwhile, Barshefsky said the United States wanted to see better offers by Asian countries and that if offers from that region and the EU are not improved “there is no question the U.S. will not unilaterally provide enhanced market access.”
