Bipartisan House Group Asks USTR to Reverse Digital Trade Decision

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai should reconsider her decision to “abandon important bipartisan digital trade proposals at the World Trade Organization,” Reps. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., and Darin LaHood, R-Ill., wrote the USTR on Thursday (see 2311080043). DelBene and LaHood signed the letter with 36 other members of Congress, including Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif.; Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y.; and Adrian Smith, R-Neb. USTR didn’t properly consult Congress before abandoning the digital trade provisions, they said. They raised concerns about China’s Digital Silk Road Initiative, which “permits censorship, surveillance, human and worker rights abuses, forced technology transfers, and data flow restrictions. The “void created” by USTR’s decision will “harm American workers, companies, security, and innovation, while benefitting our largest competitors in the digital space,” they said. USTR didn’t comment.