Information to users

Telecommunications Policy 21, no. 1 (1997):16.
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interests and security (such as the containment of
communism). The seemingly domestic policies had the
potential to have an effect on and be affected by
international relations.
Multilateral Explanations of US Foreign Information Policy Actions in information and communications that have
focused principally on domestic development give an
indication of the rationale that the United States has given for its multilateral action as well. Possibly for this
reason, it is information and communication policy in
multilateral settings that has been the most problematic for the United States. In its relations with other countries, only at times has the United States been able to implement its policies. At other times it has been hindered and even prevented from doing so.
Most multilateral attempts at US information policy do
not appear until the 20th century and, even then, not until the latter half of that century. This could be simply
because of the greater geographic separation of the United States from the rest of the world as well as internal
attempts at political isolation throughout the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. It also may have been
because information and communications issues were not at 66
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the forefront of US international interests until then.
There are two general arenas in which the United States has participated in bilateral and multilateral activities
addressing information and communication issues: 1)
international trade and 2) international organizations.26
International Trade
The first category of international information
interactions has taken place in the economic arena with trade of information content and technology. Over time, the United States has followed two paths: 1) the search for new markets in which to sell its products and 2) discussions with both cooperative and competitive governments about product standards and trade barriers.
First, the search for new markets is a driving force in bilateral relationships. The US government often uses it as a rationale in bilateral telecommunications trade talks.
'Washington . . . ha[s] forced Japan and other key Asian economies to open up their markets to American and European goods and services after a series of bruising bilateral
26 Since there is obviously great overlap between the two as
international trade is also addressed in international
organizations, the distinction for this project is that
international trade refers to bilateral negotiations that take place outside the rubric of an international organization. For example, some bilateral disputes may be addressed in the World Trade Organization after problems arise from initial one-on-one
negotiations.
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negotiations. Now the region's financial crisis has forced them to open their doors to foreign investment."27
In addition, because of the symbiotic relationship
between private US companies and the US government, the government is active in promoting US interests abroad.
Examples of this include: 1) testimonies before the US
Congress in the telecommunications arena are very often composed of heads of private sector companies explaining that the US government can help them abroad and 2) many US businesses are invited to join US government representatives in international fora where the majority of other
representatives are from other governments. What is deemed good for the United States is also deemed good for the rest of the world.
Second, most discussions on a bilateral level have
principally addressed trade barriers. A visible example is China's on-going quest to join the World Trade Organization. Though the discussions should be between China and the WTO itself, the debate has surfaced in bilateral talks between China and the United States. In fact, the United States has attempted to leverage China's desire to join the WTO into concessions during bilateral negotiations on
telecommunications services and equipment.
27 'Global Momentum," Journal of Commerce, 7 July 1999, p. 7.