Page 123 - Communication Commerce and Power The Political Economy of America and the Direct Broadcast Satellite

112 Communication, Commerce and Power

spillover of domestic into foreign affairs (and vice versa) has led its
personnel to focus increasingly on international policy.
Executive Order 12046, issued in 1978, provides the NTIA with a
range of responsibilities. These include its role as the President's
principle advisor on telecommunications; its role, with the State
Department and other agencies, in developing plans, policies and
programes dealing with international telecommunications, including
the responsibility of the Secretary of Commerce to coordinate the
'economic, technical, operational and related preparations for United
States participation in international telecommunications conferences
and negotiations'; and its responsibility to make recommendations
concerning the impact of digital convergence developments. This
20
Executive Order also mandates the Secretary of Commerce to 'provide
advice and assistance to the Secretary of State on international tele-
communications policies ... in support of the Secretary of State's
responsibility for the conduct of foreign affairs.' 21
Because the Secretary of State is largely responsible for the coordi-
nation and supervision of all foreign relations, the Department of
State is mandated to advise other relevant agencies on foreign com-
munication issues. Moreover, the Secretary of State, as the President's
principal foreign policy advisor, is in charge of coordinating and
supervising foreign communication policies on specific issues in rela-
tion to other US government departments and agencies. Executive
Order 12046 reaffirmed this role. It states that

the Secretary of State shall exercise primary authority for the
conduct of foreign policy, including the determination of United
States positions and the conduct of United States participation in
negotiations with foreign governments and international bodies.

It also states that

'In exercising this responsibility the Secretary of State shall
coordinate with other agencies as appropriate, and in particular,
shall give full consideration to the Federal Communications
Commission's regulatory and policy responsibility in this area. 22

As will be discussed in Chapter 6, since the mid-1980s the government
agency that has become the hub of US foreign communication policy
activities is the Office of the United States Trade Representative
(USTR). The United States Trade Representative is a Cabinet-level