Biden Admin Should Tackle Trade Barriers, Improve Multilateral Export Controls, Tech Group Says

The Joe Biden administration’s trade agenda should prioritize export control cooperation with Europe, work to remove trade barriers for U.S. exporters in Asian markets and address unfair Chinese trade practices, a U.S. technology industry group said. If U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai promotes the right trade “goals,” the U.S. can “re-establish” its technology leadership and boost export competitiveness, the Information Technology Industry Council said in a March 30 letter to Tai.

ITI said U.S. exporters in “recent years” have faced a range of “damaging barriers” to trade, including “country-unique approaches” to technology regulations and customs restrictions. Those measures “detract from U.S. global competitiveness, inhibit value generation, reduce U.S. exports and the flows of foreign direct investment into the United States,” ITI said. One potential solution would be a U.S.-European Union trade and technology council, which would give the two sides a “structured bilateral dialogue” to solve and collaborate on trade issues. Among other topics, the council would address technology and investment restrictions to align U.S. and EU policies on export controls and foreign investment screening, ITI said. EU officials and experts have proposed similar technology and investment cooperation (see 2102010037, 2101070047 and 2012140050).

The administration also should work to remove trade barriers in Asia, including India, which continues to impose policies that “threaten U.S. competitiveness and the entire global innovation ecosystem,” it said. ITI said India’s regulatory environment is overly burdensome for Indian importers of information and communications technology products, and many of its tariffs on ICT goods violate World Trade Organization rules. “India has taken on a consistently aggressive protectionist and individualist position on tech trade issues,” it said.

Other trade barriers in Asia continue to plague U.S. exporters, especially in China, ITI said. The administration should pressure China to be more transparent about its government subsidies and create a “non-discriminatory market access” atmosphere for U.S. providers of cloud and telecom services. “Unfortunately, many governments -- including India -- [are] following China’s lead and using trade barriers and domestic requirements in order to discriminate against U.S. companies in their markets,” ITI said.

The administration can also improve customs facilitation measures in current and future trade deals, including the USMCA. ITI said many small U.S. exporters “face intensifying customs and regulatory issues” at the Mexican border, adding that the U.S. should work with Mexico to ensure it’s fully implementing the USMCA’s trade facilitation chapter.

The U.S. also has much work to do at the WTO, which still has a nonfunctioning dispute settlement body (see 2103190060), ITI said. The administration should be leading discussions surrounding WTO revisions, including over the appellate body and measures to address unfair trading practices. It also should support efforts to make permanent the WTO’s moratorium on customs duties on digital transactions (see 2102090065).