Telecommunications And Information Products And Services In International Trade

Trade in services is becoming the fastest growing sector in international trade negotiations, and nothing is spurring this growth more than advances in telecommunications and computer technology. This book outlines developments in technology as well as their political and economic impacts.

Number 95/3 in the 'Development Issues. Economics Division Working Papers' series. Paper discusses the regulatory issues that arise in relation to international trade in telecommunications services and examines how the more important international agreements seek to overcome the impediments peculiar to the growing area of international trade. The author is a PhD student in the Australia-Japan Research Centre at the Australian National University.

Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,7, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (Lehrstuhl für Auslandswissenschaft, Englischsprachige Kulturen), course: An Introduction to Amercian Economy, language: English, abstract: Already in 1940 the U.S. became a so called “service economy” meaning that more than half of its work force is employed in producing intangibles. By 1975 two thirds of the work force was part of the tertiary sector. The Tertiary Sector, also known as the Service Sector, has become the number one driving force of the U.S. economy during the last decades. According to recent statistics (2002) it nowadays accounts for 78% of the U.S. non-agricultural employment and 76% of the U.S. private sector Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Additionally, the U.S. is the world’s premier services exporter (17% of worldwide services trade) and importer (14% of worldwide services trade) at the same time. These figures alone necessitate a closer look. However, scientist even predict a continuous increase in the relevance of this industry for the U.S. Economy, expecting that almost 100% of additionally created jobs during the next decade will belong to the Service Sector. This development is even more impressive considering the fact that the Service Sector was a subject almost not worth mentioning in the eyes of scientists up to the 1940s. Adam Smith stated in the 18th century, that services were “unproductive of any value because they do not fix or realize themselves in any permanent subject or vendible commodity which endures after labor is passed”. Another term used for the Tertiary Sector expresses very well the attitude toward this sector: The Residuum Sector, with the residual being the “unproductive labor”. Up to that point in history the merchandise producing industry, the trade of goods – nationally and internationally – and the market’s mechanisms and their expected development in future were the sole focus of economists. The questions are which factors have lead to the impressive growth of this industry and what will the future hold for it? This seminar paper will provide a glance at some of the numerous factors, namely the specialization of labor, growth of final demand and growth of goods-producing industries, and will than focus on the development and significance of the Information and Communication Technology for the U.S. service sector. However, at the beginning the term “service” will be defined and some of its different understandings explained.

"This study forms part of the activities of the International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO (ITC) on the export and market development of technology and engineering products"--Page iii.

The authors consider whether any special circumstances justify departure from free trade in telecommunications equipment.