MAR 17, 2021 | US
Global Data Alliance Applauds Confirmation of US Trade Representative Katherine Tai
WASHINGTON – March 17, 2021 – The Global Data Alliance offered the following statement on today’s Senate confirmation of Katherine Tai as United States Trade Representative (USTR).
“We applaud Ambassador Tai’s confirmation, and USTR’s practical focus on inclusive trade, jobs, governance, and sustainability. The seamless and responsible movement of information across borders is critical to these goals, including growing high-skilled and well-paid American jobs across all states and all communities,” said Joseph Whitlock, Director, Policy at BSA | The Software Alliance.
“Data flows, connectivity, and digital skills are powerful tools to help reduce inequality and impediments to small business trade. With more than 10 million Americans unemployed due to COVID-19, USTR is right to increase its focus on how trade can grow well-paid jobs in an increasingly digitized economy – where a million software and digital jobs in manufacturing and service facilities are still going unfilled across the United States,” he added.
As stated in USTR’s 2021 Trade Policy Agenda and 2020 Annual Report, the appropriate mix of policy tools can advance a fair international trading system that promotes inclusive economic growth and reflects America’s universal values, and that respects the dignity of work and values Americans as workers and wage-earners. Those tools include cross-border access to technology; the ability to share knowledge, ideas, and information across international IT networks; and improved digital connectivity and inclusiveness. Applying these tools can also help ensure that innovations are widely disseminated—spreading their societal benefits for all, including safer and more rewarding work, improved health, and a cleaner environment.
About the Global Data Alliance
The Global Data Alliance (globaldataalliance.org) is a cross-industry coalition of companies that are committed to high standards of data responsibility and that rely on the ability to transfer data around the world to innovate and create jobs. The Alliance supports policies that help instill trust in the digital economy while safeguarding the ability to transfer data across borders and refraining from imposing data localization requirements that restrict trade.
Alliance members include BSA members and Abbott, American Express, Amgen, AT&T, Citi, ExxonMobil, ITB360, LEGO, Lumen, Mastercard, Medtronic, Panasonic, Pfizer, RELX, Roche, UDS Technology, United Airlines, Verizon, and Visa. These companies are headquartered across the globe and are active in the advanced manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, consumer goods, electronics, financial services, health, media and entertainment, natural resources, supply chain, and telecommunications sectors, among others. BSA | The Software Alliance administers the Global Data Alliance.
ÜBER BSA
BSA | The Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) ist die globale Stimme der Software-Industrie gegenüber Politik und Wirtschaft. Die Mitglieder der BSA gehören zu den innovativsten Unternehmen weltweit und erarbeiten neue Software-Lösungen, die die Wirtschaft antreiben und das moderne Leben von heute prägen.
Die BSA mit Hauptsitz in Washington, D.C., und Niederlassungen in über 30 Ländern weltweit leistet Pionierarbeit in der Schaffung von Programmen zur Einhaltung und Durchsetzung geistiger Eigentumsrechte und der Einführung von Richtlinien, auf deren Basis technologische Innovationen und die digitale Wirtschaft gefördert werden.