The Transatlantic Economic Council, a joint European and US body set up in 2007 to promote economic cooperation, has agreed ten fundamental principles for trade in information and ICT services. (You can read the full paper here.)

The intention is that both economic blocs will promote the principles worldwide – and in cooperation with other countries – to support the global development of ICT networks and services and allow vendors to compete for contracts on an equal footing with local companies.

The ten principles are:

1. 1.Transparency of rules affecting trade in ICT and ICT services.
   

2. 2.Open networks for universal access to information, applications and services.
   

3. 3.Unrestricted cross-border flows of information.
   

4. 4.No requirement to use local infrastructure for, or to have a local presence when supplying, ICT services.
   

5. 5.Governments to allow full foreign participation in ICT services, whether through local establishment or other means.
   

6. 6.Efficient and transparent management of radio spectrum to maximise commercial use.
   

7. 7.The independence of regulatory authorities overseeing ICT services.
   

8. 8.Governments to allow provision of competitive telecommunications services through simple notification by service providers, without requirements for local establishment.
   

9. 9.ICT service providers must have the right to access publicly available telecommunications networks and services on commercial terms.
   

10. 10.Governments should cooperate to increase digital literacy in third countries.
    

As explained recently by European Commission Vice-President Neelie Kroes in her blog, the Council believes that adoption of these principles globally will not only allow European and US companies to benefit from better commercial opportunities but also lead to lower prices for consumers everywhere and broaden access to a wider range of technologies. For example, market access in many countries is still hindered by restrictive licensing regimes which favour domestic firms.

Trade with the BRIC economies continues to be held back by a variety of obstacles such as poor IPR enforcement and cumbersome regulations. Just 12 out of 22,000 Value-Added Services licences in China have so far been awarded to non-Chinese companies.

Another issue is that European researchers are effectively locked out of China-funded research programmes. China has had generous access to EU programmes for more than a decade (with Chinese involvement in projects receiving more than €100 million according to Kroes). In return the EU has been allowed to participate in just one Chinese project.

These problems are not exclusive to China. Indian consumers pay higher prices and miss out on access to many ICT services because European companies don’t have fair access to buying 3G licenses (two have recently been reserved for Indian-owned operators).

The Council hopes that by focusing on regulatory convergence in key markets it can put fairness and openness at the heart of the international trade in ICT and data.