Public Citizen, May 20, 2022

By Sarah Grace Spurgin

In October 2021, President Biden announced the “Indo-Pacific Economic Framework” or IPEF. There have been few details about what this IPEF will actually entail, but what we do know is that corporations are loathe to miss an opportunity to codify exploitative and short-sighted measures into “trade” agreements.

U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai has stated repeatedly that the Biden administration’s vision for trade will not repeat the past mistakes of prioritizing large business interests above all else, but will serve workers, consumers, and the environment. IPEF could be an opportunity to realize this new, lasting vision for trade. At the same time, the notion of an IPEF did not come from consumer advocacy organizations, environmental groups, or organized labor.

Instead, organizations like Biotechnology Innovation Organization, National Foreign Trade Council, the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the Association for Competitive Technology, and more are calling for a prohibition of what BSA considers the “improper digital policies or practices that undermine data security and economic opportunity in the United States and among like-minded allies, including:… forced technology transfer requirements (e.g., source code transfer mandates); source code and encryption key disclosure/access mandates; [among others].”

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Original Posting: https://www.citizen.org/news/public-submissions-to-u-s-government-reveal-corporate-wishlist-for-ipef-more-power-at-our-expense/