Washington – The Computer & Communications Industry Association welcomes the signing of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade between the United States of America and Taiwan. This is one of the most robust agreements signed to date and includes numerous helpful provisions that will advance U.S. economic interests, including in the digital realm. With a broad commitment not to introduce any new measures that put U.S. suppliers at a competitive disadvantage to domestic or third-country suppliers, the Agreement will lock in a more open market for new and emerging services, such as AI-enabled applications.
The Agreement also commits Taiwan to treat U.S. digital service suppliers fairly and without discrimination; avoid discriminatory digital services taxes or barriers to digital products; allow the free flow of data across trusted borders; prohibit forced technology transfer or source-code disclosure as a condition of doing business; and maintain a ban on customs duties on electronic transmissions and support a permanent WTO moratorium. Preventing discrimination against digital products distributed by U.S. suppliers is particularly topical, given the rise of protectionisms against U.S. “Over-the-Top” (OTT) music and video suppliers, including those recently instituted in Canada and Australia, and under consideration in Brazil.
CCIA views these commitments as an important step toward predictable, innovation-supportive trade rules that reinforce open digital markets and fair competition.
The following can be attributed to CCIA Vice President of Digital Trade, Jonathan McHale:
“The U.S.-Taiwan Agreement reinforces a simple but critical principle for the modern digital economy: services delivered online should not face discriminatory treatment, and data must be able to move across trusted borders. For online platforms that rely on seamless cross-border networks, these commitments provide meaningful certainty against measures that would fragment markets or disadvantage foreign digital services. As a leading digital economy and a key player in advanced technology supply chains, Taiwan’s embrace of these rules sends a strong signal and offers a valuable template for future agreements, and a forceful rebuttal to the growing trend of digital protectionism we have recently seen take root.”
