The US Reversal on Digital Trade Policy: Implications for Global Digital Governance

A full transcript can be found here

On October 25, the US government set off positive and negative shock waves in the world of digital and trade policy by announcing the abandonment of its longstanding advocacy of ambitious negotiations for digital trade.  Until last week, the United States had been the leading proponent of strong trade rules that would curtail governments’ restrictions on cross-border data flows and their requirements of forced data localization and access to source code as a condition of foreign firms doing business in their countries.  Difficult negotiations on these points have been underway in multiple settings including the World Trade Organization’s Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) on E-Commerce, and in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF). The US policy reversal has thus greatly dismayed like-minded governments, business interests, and trade analysts who advocate international regimes that promote openness in the global digital economy.  Conversely, the decision has been warmly welcomed by opposing governments and civil society organizations, and by critics of Big Tech in the US Congress.

Why did the United States reverse a long-standing position that has been central to its posture as a global leader in international trade policy?  Who benefits and what is gained or lost by the shift?  How will this affect current and future trade negotiations? What could the new US posture mean for the future evolution and governance of the global digital and Internet environments?

This webinar assembles a panel of expert analysts to assess the causes and consequences of the new US approach to digital trade negotiations.  As always, the panelists’ conversation will be followed by an open dialogue among all webinar participants.

Introduction of the topic

Eli Noam is Paul Garrett Professor of Public Policy and Business Responsibility, Emeritus, and Director of the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information at Columbia Business School.

Moderator 

William J. Drake is Director of International Studies at the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information and an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School. 

Panelists

Nigel Cory is an Associate Director covering Trade Policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. He focuses on cross-border data flows, data governance, intellectual property, and how they each relate to digital trade and the broader digital economy. Nigel is a member of the United Kingdom’s International Data Transfer Expert Council.  (USA)

Jonathan McHale is Vice President for Digital Trade at the Computer & Communications Industry Association.  He engages with U.S. and foreign governments in seeking to remove barriers to digital commerce through the development, negotiation and enforcement of international trade rules. Previously, he spent two decades at the Office of the US Trade Representative and the Department of State where he focused on telecommunications and digital policy.  (USA)

Lee Tuthill is a visiting Fellow at the University of Adelaide’s Institute for International Trade in Australia. From 1990 to 2021, she worked at the World Trade Organization where she was a senior expert supporting negotiations on the General Agreement on Trade in Services, telecommunications/ICT services, emerging technologies and global digital trade.  (USA)