This Briefing Report concerns the far-reaching implications for the "telecommunications community" (regulators, operators and users) of the Marrakesh Agreement of 1994 that completed the Uruguay Round of international trade negotiations and established the World Trade Organisation (WTO). It also explains in detail the continuing negotiations taking place through the Group on Basic Telecommunications (GBT). The report was prepared by Michael Tyler, Professor William Letwin and Russell Pipe, and funded by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The views expressed are those of the authors.