Washington – The Computer & Communications Industry Association filed comments today with the U.S. Trade Representative, asking USTR to identify countries using intellectual property rules and content quotas in ways that pose trade barriers for U.S. exporters in its upcoming Special 301 report.
For this year’s report, CCIA’s comments address the continued issues of countries imposing link taxes for online content and mandatory bargaining codes as well as recent measures to impose content quotas for online streaming services operating in Australia and Canada.
The following can be attributed to CCIA Vice President of Digital Trade Jonathan McHale:
“U.S. IP-intensive exports, and the jobs they support, are facing an increasingly hostile reception in foreign markets. A growing number of countries are pursuing protectionist measures that dictate streaming offerings to consumers, favoring local content, often in the face of trade commitments designed to prevent such discrimination. At the same time, online services that have helped news businesses attract and build audiences are increasingly being subjected to extractionary fees mandated by trade partners—in defiance of core IP obligations. U.S. trade policy should work to address these barriers and take action where these measures conflict with trade obligations to the United States.”