[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 270 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 270
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United
States should negotiate strong, inclusive, and forward-looking rules on
digital trade and the digital economy with like-minded countries as
part of its broader trade and economic strategy in order to ensure
American values of democracy, rule of law, freedom of speech, human and
worker rights, privacy, and a free and open internet are at the very
core of digital governance.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 30, 2023
Mr. LaHood (for himself, Ms. DelBene, Mr. Smith of Nebraska, and Mr.
Bera) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United
States should negotiate strong, inclusive, and forward-looking rules on
digital trade and the digital economy with like-minded countries as
part of its broader trade and economic strategy in order to ensure
American values of democracy, rule of law, freedom of speech, human and
worker rights, privacy, and a free and open internet are at the very
core of digital governance.
Whereas over half of the world's population, totaling more than 5,000,000,000
people, use the internet;
Whereas the ``digital economy'' encompasses the economic and social activity
from billions of online connections among people, businesses, devices,
and data as a result of the internet, mobile technology, and the
internet of things;
Whereas the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis found that the digital
economy contributed 10.2 percent of United States gross domestic product
and supported 7,800,000 American jobs in 2020;
Whereas the tech-commerce ecosystem added 1,400,000 jobs between 2017 and 2021,
and served as the main job-creating sector in 40 States;
Whereas American jobs supported by the digital economy have sustained annual
wage growth at a rate of 5.9 percent since 2010, as compared to a 4.2-
percent increase for all jobs;
Whereas, in 2020, United States exports of digital services surpassed
$520,000,000,000, accounting for more than half of all United States
services exports and generating a United States digital services trade
surplus of $214,000,000,000;
Whereas digital trade bolsters the digital economy by enabling the sale of goods
on the internet and the supply of online services across borders, and
depends on the free flow of data across borders to promote commerce,
manufacturing, and innovation;
Whereas digital trade has become increasingly vital to American workers and
businesses of all sizes, including the countless small- and medium-sized
enterprises that use digital technology, data flows, and e-commerce to
export goods and services across the world;
Whereas digital trade has advanced entrepreneurship opportunities for women,
people of color, and individuals from otherwise underrepresented
backgrounds, and enabled the formation of innovative startups;
Whereas international supply chains are becoming increasingly digitized and data
driven, and businesses in a variety of industries, such as construction,
health care, transportation, and aerospace, invested heavily in digital
supply chain technologies in 2020;
Whereas United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai said that ``there is no
bright line separating digital trade from the digital economy--or the
traditional economy for that matter. Nearly every aspect of our economy
has been digitized to some degree.'';
Whereas industries outside of the traditional technology sector, such as
manufacturing and agriculture, are integrating digital technology into
their businesses in order to increase efficiency, improve safety, reach
new customers, and remain globally competitive;
Whereas the increasing reliance on digital technologies has modernized legacy
processes, accelerated workflows, increased access to information and
services, and strengthened security in a variety of industries, leading
to better health, environmental, and safety outcomes;
Whereas the coronavirus pandemic has led to increased uptake and reliance on
digital technologies, data flows, and e-commerce;
Whereas 90 percent of United States adults say that the internet has been
essential or important for them personally during the coronavirus
outbreak;
Whereas American families, workers, and business owners have seen how vital
access to the internet has been to daily life, as work, education,
medicine, and communication with family and friends have shifted
increasingly online;
Whereas many individuals and families, especially in rural and Tribal
communities, struggle to participate in the digital economy due to lack
of access to a reliable and affordable internet connection;
Whereas new developments in technology must be deployed with consideration to
the unique access challenges of rural, urban, underserved, and
vulnerable communities;
Whereas digital trade has the power to help level the playing field and uplift
those in traditionally unrepresented or underrepresented communities;
Whereas countries have negotiated international rules governing digital trade in
various bilateral and plurilateral agreements, but those rules remain
fragmented, and no multilateral agreement on digital trade exists within
the World Trade Organization;
Whereas a patchwork of plurilateral digital trade agreements in the Indo-Pacific
region have emerged, creating a set of rules on digital governance to
which the United States is not a party;
Whereas Congress recognizes the need for agreements on digital trade, as
indicated by its support for a robust digital trade chapter in the
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement;
Whereas other countries are operating under their own digital rules, some of
which are contrary to democratic values shared by the United States and
many of its allies and partners;
Whereas these countries are attempting to advance their own digital rules on a
global scale;
Whereas certain practices, such as overly restrictive data localization
requirements and limitations on cross border data flows that do not
achieve legitimate public policy objectives, intellectual property
rights infringement, policies which make market access contingent on
forced technology transfers or voluntary transfers subject to coercive
terms, web filtering, economic espionage, cybercrime exposure, and
state-directed theft of trade secrets, are just some examples of the
plethora of nontariff barriers to digital trade that have emerged around
the globe;
Whereas certain countries are pursuing or have implemented digital policies that
unfairly discriminate against innovative United States technology
companies and American workers that create and deliver digital products
and services;
Whereas the People's Republic of China (PRC) is currently advancing a model for
digital governance and the digital economy domestically and abroad
through its Digital Silk Road Initiative that permits censorship,
surveillance, human and worker rights abuses, forced technology
transfers, and data flow restrictions at the expense of human and worker
rights, privacy, the free flow of data, and an open internet;
Whereas the Department of State's 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
highlighted significant human rights issues committed by the PRC in the
digital realm, including ``arbitrary interference with privacy;
pervasive and intrusive technical surveillance and monitoring; serious
restrictions on free expression, the press, and the internet, including
physical attacks on and criminal prosecution of journalists, lawyers,
writers, bloggers, dissidents, petitioners, and others as well as their
family members, and censorship and site blocking'';
Whereas the United States discourages digital authoritarianism, including
practices that undermine human and worker rights and result in other
social and economic coercion;
Whereas United States allies and trading partners in the Indo-Pacific region
have urged the United States to deepen economic engagement in the region
by negotiating rules on digital trade and technology standards;
Whereas the digital economy has provided new opportunities for economic
development, entrepreneurship, and growth in developing countries around
the world;
Whereas negotiating strong digital trade principles and commitments with allies
and partners across the globe enables the United States to unite like-
minded economies around common standards and ensure that principles of
democracy, rule of law, freedom of speech, human and worker rights,
privacy, and a free and open internet are at the very core of digital
governance;
Whereas United States leadership and substantive engagement is necessary to
ensure that global digital rules reflect American values so that workers
are treated fairly, small businesses can compete and win in the global
economy, and consumers are guaranteed the right to privacy and security;
Whereas the United States supports rules that reduce digital trade barriers,
promote free expression and the free flow of information, enhance
privacy protections, protect sensitive information, defend human and
worker rights, prohibit forced technology transfer, and promote
digitally enabled commerce; and
Whereas the United States supports efforts to cooperate with allies and trading
partners to mitigate the risks of cyberattacks, address potentially
illegal or deceptive business activities online, promote financial
inclusion and digital workforce skills, and develop rules to govern the
use of artificial intelligence and other emerging and future
technologies: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives
that--
(1) the United States should negotiate strong, inclusive,
forward-looking, and enforceable rules on digital trade and the
digital economy with like-minded countries as part of its
broader trade and economic strategy to address digital barriers
and ensure American values of democracy, rule of law, freedom
of speech, human and worker rights, privacy, and a free and
open internet are at the very core of the digital world and
advanced technology;
(2) in doing so, the United States must--
(A) pursue digital trade rules that serve the best
interests of workers, consumers, and small- and medium-
sized enterprises;
(B) empower American workers;
(C) fuel wage growth;
(D) take actions that lead to materially positive
economic outcomes for all Americans;
(E) ensure that any future agreement prevents
against nondemocratic, coercive, or overly restrictive
policies that would harm the ability for a free and
open internet and e-commerce marketplace to continue to
grow and thrive;
(F) coordinate sufficient trade-related assistance
to ensure that developing countries can improve their
capacity and benefit from increased digital trade; and
(G) consult closely with all relevant stakeholders,
including workers, consumers, small- and medium-sized
enterprises, civil society groups, and human rights
advocates; and
(3) with respect to any negotiations of an agreement
facilitating digital trade, the United States Trade
Representative and other relevant Federal departments and
agencies must consult closely and on a timely basis with the
Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Finance of the Senate about the substance of
such negotiations and the requisite legal authority to bind the
United States to any agreement, keep both committees fully
apprised of those negotiations, and provide to those
committees, including staff with appropriate security
clearances, adequate access to the text of the negotiating
proposal of the United States before tabling the proposal in
the negotiation.
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