Groups Press Tai to Pursue Pac-Rim Digital Trade Act

POLITICO Morning Trade, September 13, 2021

By Gavin Bade

“The increasing frequency of data-restrictive practices and digital protectionist measures around the world requires that the United States play a more active role in the establishment of global norms governing digital trade,” the Information Technology Industry Council, BSA | The Software Alliance, the Chamber of Commerce and other groups said in a letter to Tai.

Joe Whitlock, policy director at the Software Alliance, told Morning Trade he believed a digital trade agreement could be negotiated in a way that supports the Biden administration’s “worker-focused” agenda depending on how it crafts provisions in areas like consumer protection, privacy and cybersecurity supply-chain security.

A digital trade pact could also address a number of other important policy issues, such as how to promote digital inclusion, what restrictions to put on the use of artificial intelligence to prevent systemic bias, how to facilitate cross-border access to the services and technologies needed to combat climate change, and how to support democratic and accountable governance in the digital environment, Whitlock said.

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Original Posting: https://www.politico.com/newsletters/weekly-trade/2021/09/13/white-house-trial-balloons-new-china-tariffs-797563