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Free keywords:
Free Trade; World Trade Organization; Technical Regulation; Internet Engineer Task Force; International Electrotechnical Commission
Abstract:
With the evolution of an international free trade regime in telecommunications the economic significance of technical standards has been broadly acknowledged. But their evaluation has remained somewhat diffuse due to the ambivalent nature of standards that can facilitate as well as impede international trade. Focussing on the World Trade Organization (WTO) this article examines the role of technical standards and the principles according to which standards and standardization organizations are assessed. The WTO’s view is extremely formal and restricted and remarkably mismatched with the contemporary hybrid international standards regime.
