BRISBANE – December 16, 2022 – BSA led a group of member companies and partners to participate in the first round of in-person negotiations at the December 2022 meeting on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) in Brisbane, Australia this past week.

“BSA supports efforts to achieve a comprehensive, digital economic framework through the IPEF negotiations that would further digital transformation and foster economic opportunities across all 14 partner economies that convened this week in Brisbane,” said Victoria Espinel, President and CEO at BSA | The Software Alliance. “BSA was proud to lead a multi-industry delegation in Brisbane to emphasize how the IPEF can support digital policies and practices that encourage competition, data-driven innovation, and collaboration.”

Digital trade agreements are vital to businesses in all economies that rely on the free movement of data across borders. BSA supports digital trade provisions that:

• Ensure data can be transferred across borders
• Minimize restrictions on where data may be stored and processed 
• Prohibit discriminatory rules from being applied to digital products 
• Limit requirements to disclose proprietary source code and algorithms 
• Promote collaboration on issues ranging from government-generated data to cybersecurity challenges 

BSA APAC Policy Manager Tham Shen Hong also led public-private discussions with IPEF trade negotiators and enterprise software and cross-industry partners.

“IPEF negotiations offer an opportunity to establish ambitious and forward-looking rules on digital trade and expand the benefits of the digital economy,” said Tham, who urged negotiators to focus on facilitating cross-border data transfers, guarding against data localization, and preventing the imposition of customs duties on electronic transmissions.

BSA supports modern trade agreements that reflect how digital transformation, enabled by software, contributes to growing economies and raising competitiveness across all sectors. For more information, please see the BSA’s Jobs-Centric Digital Trade Policy and BSA’s Submission on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. BSA also advocates on cross-border data policies in IPEF through the Global Data Alliance, which represents companies that depend upon data transfers in sectors including advanced manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, consumer goods, electronics, financial services, health, media, natural resources, supply chain logistics, and telecommunications.