Tech Industry Wants Congress to Cut Digital Trade Barriers

Industry groups plan to seek stronger digital trade laws during a House Digital Commerce Subcommittee hearing Thursday on barriers to trade and cross-border data flows, according to prepared testimony. Information Technology Industry Council President Dean Garfield outlined top administration priorities Congress should support: Negotiate new rules preventing barriers to digital trade; enforce existing trade agreements; and designate a senior official at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative responsible for digital trade. ACT|The App Association President Morgan Reed says Congress should update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act to "ensure U.S. companies doing business abroad do not face conflicts between law enforcement requests and foreign laws." BSA|The Software Alliance CEO Victoria Espinel wants a "modernized" North American Free Trade Agreement that will ban barriers to market access for e-commerce and digital trade. NAFTA should promote cooperation among trade partners on cybersecurity and prohibit measures that require technology transfers, such as source code or algorithms, as a condition of market access, Espinel says. American University associate law professor Jennifer Daskal is to back a “multipronged strategy” to address privacy and security concerns of foreign governments without endorsing “protectionist impulses.”