Digital Trade Legislation Would Stem Protectionism, Says Proponents
The Digital Trade Act of 2013 would prevent or eliminate cross-border Internet data flow restrictions through the establishment of several negotiating principles aimed at addressing digital trade issues in future U.S. trade agreements, said Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., in a press release (here). Wyden and Senator John Thune, R-S.D., introduced the legislation on Dec. 10, according to the release. Through the negotiating principles, the legislation would also prohibit localization requirements for data and computing infrastructure and ensure laws affecting platform Internet sites are consistent with U.S. law, said the release.
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"America’s trade negotiating objectives must reflect the fact that the Internet represents the shipping lane for 21st Century goods and services,” Wyden said. “Trade in digital goods and services is growing and driving economic growth and job creation all around the country. U.S. digital exports are beating imports by large margins, but out-dated trade rules threaten this growth by providing opportunities for protectionist policies overseas.”
The legislation would complement the World Trade Organization (WTO) trade facilitation pact sealed in recent days by increasing access to the global marketplace, said the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) President Bill Reinsch (here). The trade facilitation agreement, brokered at the WTO ministerial summit in Bali, aims to reduce costs and improve the speed and efficiency of customs procedures (see 13120922). The Digital Trade Act of 2013 would stem emerging cases of global, digital protectionism, said Reinsch. “We also look forward to emphasizing the importance of a number of these principles -- most urgently, preventing barriers to the movement of electronic information across borders and prohibiting measures that condition market access or other commercial benefits on localization of data, infrastructure, or investment -- in legislation to grant the President Trade Promotion Authority.”
U.S. trade policy has “failed to keep pace” with an increasingly digital-dominated global economy, said Computer & Communications Industry Association President & CEO Ed Black (here). “In directing our trade negotiators to remove barriers to the free flow of information across borders, to reject mandates on location of IT infrastructure, and to ensure that U.S. Internet platforms are not subject to unfair or discriminatory liability exposure overseas, Senators Wyden and Thune have identified some of the main impediments to digital trade,” said Black. “These are the non-tariff trade barriers of the 21st century.”