Washington – The Computer & Communications Industry Association joined 40 organizations in a letter urging the Biden Administration to reaffirm support for strong digital trade rules and to defend U.S. economic interests in the digital space on the global stage.
The letter comes ahead of hearings featuring the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, respectively. In the letter, a coalition of industry organizations that represent a wide range of sectors highlights the concerning trajectory of the USTR over the past year that has deprioritized digital trade by halting negotiations and disengaging on enforcement. The organizations indicate how essential digital trade is for companies of all sizes and all industries while also pushing back on the arguments that have been floated as reason for the digital trade reversal.
CCIA also signed a stakeholder memo and letter with 11 trade organizations to Congress detailing the harms caused by USTR’s recent decision to scale back references to digital trade barriers in the agency’s annual National Trade Estimate report and highlighting how the move contradicts USTR’s statutory obligations.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association has advocated for digital trade rules that strengthen the global economy for over 50 years.
The following can be attributed to CCIA Vice President of Digital Trade Jonathan McHale:
“Digital trade rules enhance the entire U.S. economy — not just by bolstering U.S. competitiveness in technology, but by ensuring U.S. goods and services providers are both able to operate in different markets free from discrimination. In the modern economy, almost every industry relies on the promotion of cross-border data flows, protections from data localization mandates, protection from discrimination, and assurances that countries will not unduly demand the disclosure of source code to conduct business with reliability.”
“As lawmakers delve into trade policy this week, we would urge a return to the decades of precedent — that has been supported on a bipartisan basis and aligns with USTR’s Congressional mandate — that served as the foundation for pursuing and enforcing robust digital trade commitments.”