WASHINGTON – April 3, 2020 – The Global Data Alliance welcomes USTR’s increasing attention to digital trade barriers – particularly data transfer restrictions and localization mandates – in the 2020 National Trade Estimate of foreign trade barriers. The 2020 NTE report identifies key barriers in China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and other countries. Attention to these barriers is critical: Laws that restrict the movement of data, or require data or data centers to be localized, undermine the prosperity and competitiveness of the very countries implementing these restrictions – suppressing economic productivity while discouraging R&D and capital investment in every sector of the economy. These kinds of laws not only impede local innovation and undermine data security, but also put local business at a competitive disadvantage.

Workers and enterprises across all countries need a predictable legal environment that allows for the seamless flow of data across borders at every stage of the business cycle:

• Global employees across all sectors depend upon the ability to transfer data across borders to collaborate in the research, design, engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and post-sale service of new products;
• Service providers rely on data flows to provide cloud computing, cybersecurity, e-commerce, human resource management, health, financial services, hospitality, and transportation services;
• Agricultural producers and farmers rely on accurate weather forecasting and soil analysis that depend on global data sets to make planting, cultivation, and harvesting decisions, and to maximize crop yields; and
• Workers across the economy also depend upon data flows for teleworking, virtual collaboration, online training, and the remote delivery of services, including virtual healthcare solutions.

The Global Data Alliance looks forward to working with the US government and other governments to advance policies that promote the responsible handling of data without imposing unnecessary data localization mandates or restrictions on data transfers.