“Small businesses in the app economy depend on tech platforms for three things: reduced overhead, instantaneous trust, and access to a global market. By stepping away from the negotiating table on digital trade issues in October and signaling that digital trade barriers are less important than traditional trade barriers in the National Trade Estimate (NTE) Report, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is degrading those services and harming small businesses. Rather than retreating from last year’s strong stance protecting U.S. digital trade priorities, USTR should ensure that U.S. small businesses in the app economy continue to have access to a global market and can provide consumers—regardless of where they live—with top-notch products.”
