United States–European Union
GPS-Galileo Working Group “B” on Trade & Civil Applications
U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C.
January 17, 2007

Joint Statement

On January 16-17, 2007, representatives from the United States and the European Union convened the first meeting of the Working Group on Trade and Civil Applications (Working Group B) under the auspices of the 2004 U.S.-E.U. Agreement on the Promotion, Provision and Use of Galileo and GPS Satellite-Based Navigation Systems and Related Applications. The purpose of Working Group B is to consider, inter alia, non-discrimination and other trade related issues concerning civil satellite-based navigation and timing signals or services, augmentations, value-added services, and global navigation and timing goods.

In light of the purpose of Working Group B, the Parties exchanged information about the status of the Galileo concessionaire, U.S. and E.U. industry interests in Galileo and GPS, the process concerning updates to the U.S. National Table of Frequency Allocations, and the use of GPS and Galileo to implement emergency phone call location mandates.

The U.S. and E.U. also took steps to initiate a joint outreach effort intended to improve the general public’s understanding of the complementary nature of civil GPS and Galileo, which are being designed to be compatible and interoperable for the benefit of end users around the world. The U.S. and E.U. plan to offer their respective satellite navigation industries an opportunity for mutual exchange of views on issues of interest on the occasion of future meetings of the Working Group.

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Ed Morris, U.S. Co-Chair

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Paul Verhoef, E.U. Co-Chair