WASHINGTON, DC —March 20, 2015 —

Software industry executives today urged Congress to move quickly to pass updated Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) legislation with strong digital trade provisions in a letter sent to Congressional committee leadership. The letter, signed by BSA | The Software Alliance’s Board of Directors and Victoria Espinel, BSA President & CEO, points to the need for rules protecting the movement of data across borders and the increase in policies around the world that would hinder market access for digital products and services.

BSA member companies signing the letter include Adobe, Altium, ANSYS, Apple, Autodesk, CA Technologies, Dell, IBM, Microsoft, Minitab, Oracle, salesforce.com, Siemens PLM Software, Symantec.

The group writes, “We are seeing a growing number of countries enacting measures that restrict cross-border data flows or require data processing to occur within the nation’s borders… We need trade agreements to address these market access restrictions on digital commerce directly.  Today, our agreements do not specifically prohibit restrictions on cross-border data flows and data localization. To have a truly 21st century trade regime, which empowers commercial opportunities where the United States has real competitive advantage, we need our negotiators to focus on these barriers specifically. We urge prompt action on TPA to set specific goals on open markets for digital trade.” 

Today’s letter comes shortly after BSA’s board members gathered in Washington for meetings with policymakers to advance a bipartisan, achievable, pro-growth agenda focused on removing trade barriers, advancing patent reform, and balancing privacy protections and government access to private data.

Click here to download the letter.