November 18, 2021

Speaker: Joseph Whitlock, Director, Policy, BSA, BSA | The Software Alliance

BSA's Joseph Whitlock participated in a panel on a Worker-Centric Digital Trade Policy together with speakers from AFL-CIO, the American Leadership Institute, and the Information Technology Industry Foundation.

Following comments by Digital Trade Caucus co-chairs Rep. Suzan DelBene and Rep. Darin LaHood, the panel explored elements of a “worker-centric” digital trade policy. Panelists discussed: (1) how worker-centric trade goals can be folded into a broader digital trade agreement; (2) how we can build off of historic labor and digital provisions included in the USMCA; (3) how digital provisions meant to advance human rights and consumer protections, such as privacy rules, can benefit workers; and (4) the importance of equity and inclusion in digital trade discussions (e.g. closing the digital divide, training opportunities for workers, and capacity building efforts), and what we could potentially do in trade agreements to advance those objectives.