[anybody know why they chose to do this under WTO rather than NAFTA? Does WTO have better ajudication procedures?] Paris, Friday, November 10, 2000 U.S. Turns to WTO in Dispute With Mexico By Peter S. Goodman Washington Post Service WASHINGTON - The Clinton administration has asked the World Trade Organization to hold a formal hearing on its complaints that Mexico has not adequately opened its telecommunications markets to competition, escalating a simmering battle between the United States and one of its most important trading partners. ''We have repeatedly urged the government of Mexico to comply with its WTO commitments,'' the U.S. trade representative, Charlene Barshefsky, said in a written statement Wednesday. ''While some progress has been made, Mexico's failure to take additional actions has left us no choice but to request a WTO panel.'' Mexico has maintained that its telecommunications market is open, and officials have accused the Clinton administration of using the disagreement to give U.S. companies a competitive advantage. The dispute now goes to a formal settlement panel in Geneva, which is expected to hear testimony and consider briefs over the next several months. If the panel rules against Mexico, it could order the government to take steps to comply with its WTO obligations. Mexico could appeal such a ruling, but if it refused to heed a WTO judgment, the United States would claim the right to take retaliatory action. The stakes are substantial: Mexico's telecommunications market remains relatively small - worth about $12 billion a year - but analysts expect dramatic growth. The U.S. request for a hearing before the global trade organization follows the failure of a series of bilateral negotiations aimed at resolving differences, including a meeting last month in Guadalajara.
