Just before Halloween, ACT | The App Association filed extensive comments with the United States Trade Representative (USTR) as the agency prepares its annual edition of the National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE Report) for Congress. Every year, USTR publishes a new NTE Report identifying laws and policies of countries around the world that act as significant barriers to U.S. exports of goods and services or U.S. foreign direct investment. And every year, ACT makes sure that the barriers, especially digital trade barriers, that most prevent our members from reaching customers wherever they are.
One of the miracles of the internet, as ACT members well know, is that it allows people to connect regardless of geography without the expense of moving physical goods. Even the smallest of small businesses can sell a digital product or service to a customer halfway around the world. This has led to a digital economy worth more than $1.8 trillion annually. Unfortunately, digital trade barriers exist in many countries and serve to impede these great benefits. And even more frustratingly, in recent years, USTR has declined to mention digital trade barriers in its NTE Report at all.
This year, USTR has an opportunity to make digital trade front and center again in this year’s NTE Report. ACT’s filing identified ninety-five distinct trade barriers across 32 countries, as well as presenting our general digital trade principles, which include the pursuit of policies that enable cross-border data flows, prohibit data localization policies, prohibit duties and taxes on digital content and services, prevent source code transfer as a condition of market entry, preserve strong encryption, protect intellectual property, and avoid the misapplication of consumer protection and competition laws to emerging technology markets.
Whenever an opportunity arises to fight back against digital trade barriers that harm small business innovators, ACT will be there.