August 15, 2000 European operators back commercial claim against the United States BRUSSELS (PL).- The European Telecommunications Network Operators (ETNO) has given its backing to the European Commission's complaint concerning trade barriers imposed by the United States. Those European companies endorsed the commercial claim filed against Washington and asked for a wider opening of the sector in the United States. ETNO director Michel Bartholonew reiterated that the United States is violating the World Trade Organization (WTO) telecommunications agreement to which it is a signatory. Bartholonew presented a report on the barriers to trade and investment in the United States, in which he criticized the European companies' disadvantaged situation, especially in the sector of new information technologies. European commissioners confirmed that they had identified a number of U.S. policies and legislation on the Internet and electronics trade which are having negative repercussions on European enterprises. The European Union (EU) has contested the trade barriers against its products in the United States, and is claiming that its companies are confronting serious problems in exporting to that country. In its annual report, the EU noted that many European enterprises, particularly in the communication services sector, are facing problems over exports to the United States. Experts from the economic supplement of El Mundo commented that the most obvious obstacles denounced by Brussels are tariff barriers, differences in regulatory systems and limitations placed on international practices. HELMS-BURTON CONDEMNED The EU emphatically condemned the extraterritorial nature of U.S. trade legislation such as the anti-Cuban Helms-Burton Act and the obstacles placed in the way of normal relations with Europe. Bartholonew expressed his strong opposition to extraterritorial regulations within U.S. legislation which are hindering international trade and investment. In its 16th report on U.S. barriers to trade and investment, a document which reviews the situation of commercial relations between the United States and the EU, the Commission focussed on the obstacles to European investment imposed by that country. In addition, it expressed concern at the unilateralism of U.S. trade legislation and recalled that although Washington has appealed to the WTO to resolve its differences with the EU, it is maintaining the recourse of adopting unilateral trade measures. Brussels has made protests concerning the conduct of the U.S. authorities in relation to the activities of companies in the information technology, satellite services and mobile communications sectors. European community sources recalled that the EU has a dozen cases against the United States pending resolution at the WTO, while that country has only three complaints against "the 15" filed with this international agency. ABOUT GRANMA INTERNATIONAL ONLINE Spanish | French | Portuguese | German | Italian | Javier Sotomayor | Magazines � Copyright. 1996-1999. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. GRANMA INTERNATIONAL/ ONLINE EDITION
