North Cook News

WASHINGTON - U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), a Chief Deputy Whip and Ranking Member on the Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee, joined six of her colleagues in sending a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, reiterating concerns about the impact that including skewed digital trade rules in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) will have on the U.S. government’s ability to promote competition, regulate AI, and protect consumer and worker privacy. The lawmakers are also urging USTR to prioritize transparency as they continue to negotiate IPEF.

This letter was also signed by Representatives David Cicilline (RI-01), Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), and Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT.).

“While we appreciate your commitment that digital trade negotiations will not conflict with the federal government’s active work on tech policy, we remain concerned that Big Tech companies are advocating for an approach to digital trade that will do just that,” wrote the lawmakers.

Big Tech companies are calling for IPEF to include a provision that would allow their lobbyists to attack tech regulations as “illegal trade barriers” simply because they may primarily impact “digital products” of dominant companies that happen to be headquartered in the United States.

“It is not ‘trade discrimination’ for the U.S. government or any of our trading partners to regulate Google, Meta, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon to protect online competition, as tech industry groups have claimed —it is common sense, and trade-pact terms should in no way inhibit it,” wrote the lawmakers.

In July 2021, President Biden issued an executive order that would promote competition in the American economy and direct federal agencies to pursue policies that would do the same. Meanwhile, the U.S. Congress is considering bipartisan proposals to regulate Big Tech. However, tech lobbyists are advocating digital trade rules that would tie the hands of Congress and of the regulators and conflict with President Biden’s whole-of-government effort to promote competition.

The lawmakers also raised concern with the lack of transparency in the negotiating process and the speed at which the negotiations are proceeding.

“An artificial deadline must not come before ensuring that the deal fulfills the Biden Administration’s commitments to promote competition in the economy, to protect digital privacy, and to advance a worker-centered trade policy,” wrote the lawmakers. “If trade agreements contain rules that allow tech companies to plead ‘illegal trade discrimination’ to avoid accountability for monopolistic and discriminatory behavior, not only will personal privacy and consumers’ trust in the Internet be threatened, but the United States’ economic and national security as well.”

Full Text of Letter (PDF)

Original source can be found here.