TIA Supports Canada, Japan, and Mexico Joining Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement Negotiations

Washington, D.C. – The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), which represents the manufacturers and suppliers of global communications networks, has officially filed comments with the United States Trade Representative (USTR) supporting Canada, Japan, and Mexico joining negotiations of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement, which includes countries Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

"The Asia-Pacific region is the largest telecommunications market in the world and holds tremendous opportunity for growth," remarked Grant Seiffert, TIA President. "TIA supports a trade agreement with the TPP countries and would like to see USTR build upon its efforts in the future and extend it to include other countries in the region."

In the filing, TIA specifically urges the TPP to include commitments by countries to be technology neutral, allocate scarce resources in a timely, transparent and non-discriminatory manner, and use a flexible, global approach to the import, use and sale of commercial encryption products. Supporting the inclusion of these market-oriented, technology-neutral principles in the final agreement will help build a strong, global, digital economy based on quality infrastructure, network of services, and a solid legal and commercial framework.

TIA's Trans-Pacific Partnership submissions are available on its USTR filings page at tiaonline.org.

About TIA
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) represents the manufacturers and suppliers of global information and communications technology (ICT) networks through standards development, policy and advocacy, business opportunities, market intelligence, and events and networking. Since 1924, TIA has been enhancing the business environment for broadband, mobile wireless, information technology, networks, cable, satellite and unified communications. Members' products and services empower communications in every industry and market, including healthcare, education, security, public safety, transportation, government, the military, the environment, and entertainment. Visit tiaonline.org.

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