[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 58 (Thursday, March 30, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1105-S1106]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 155--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE 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 THAT THE UNITED STATES 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

  Mr. YOUNG (for himself, Mr. Carper, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Cardin, 
and Mr. Cornyn) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on Finance:

                              S. Res. 155

       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 Bureau of Economic Analysis found that the 
     digital economy contributed nearly 10.2 percent of United 
     States gross domestic product and supported 7,800,000 United 
     States jobs in 2020;
       Whereas the technology-commerce ecosystem added 1,400,000 
     jobs between 2017 and 2021, and served as the main job-
     creating sector in 40 States;
       Whereas United States 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 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 digital 
     services trade surplus for the United States 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 
     United States 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

[[Page S1106]]

     of color, and individuals from otherwise underrepresented 
     backgrounds and enabled the formation of innovative start-
     ups;
       Whereas international supply chains are becoming 
     increasingly digitized and data driven and businesses in a 
     variety of industries, such as construction, healthcare, 
     transportation, and aerospace, invested heavily in digital 
     supply chain technologies in 2020;
       Whereas United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai 
     said, ``[T]here 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 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 COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased uptake 
     and reliance on digital technologies, data flows, and e-
     commerce;
       Whereas 90 percent of adults in the United States say that 
     the internet has been essential or important for them 
     personally during the COVID-19 pandemic;
       Whereas United States 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 because of a 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 the United States, through free trade agreements or 
     other digital agreements, has been a leader in developing a 
     set of rules and standards on digital governance and e-
     commerce that has helped allies and partners of the United 
     States unlock the full economic and social potential of 
     digital trade;
       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 allies and 
     partners of the United States;
       Whereas those countries are attempting to advance their own 
     digital rules on a global scale;
       Whereas examples of the plethora of nontariff barriers to 
     digital trade that have emerged around the globe include--
       (1) overly restrictive data localization requirements and 
     limitations on cross border data flows that do not achieve 
     legitimate public policy objectives;
       (2) intellectual property rights infringement;
       (3) policies that make market access contingent on forced 
     technology transfers or voluntary transfers subject to 
     coercive terms;
       (4) web filtering;
       (5) economic espionage;
       (6) cybercrime exposure; and
       (7) government-directed theft of trade secrets;

       Whereas certain countries are pursuing or have implemented 
     digital policies that unfairly discriminate against 
     innovative United States technology companies and United 
     States workers that create and deliver digital products and 
     services;
       Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China 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 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 
     of the Department of State highlighted significant human 
     rights issues committed by the People's Republic of China 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 allies and trading partners of the United States 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 
     United States 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 Senate 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 a 
     broader trade and economic strategy to address digital 
     barriers and ensure that the United States 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 conducting such negotiations, the United States 
     must--
       (A) pursue digital trade rules that--
       (i) serve the best interests of workers, consumers, and 
     small and medium-sized enterprises;
       (ii) empower United States workers;
       (iii) fuel wage growth; and
       (iv) lead to materially positive economic outcomes for all 
     people in the United States;
       (B) ensure that any future agreement prevents the adoption 
     of non-democratic, coercive, or overly restrictive policies 
     that would be obstacles to a free and open internet and harm 
     the ability of the e-commerce marketplace to continue to grow 
     and thrive;
       (C) coordinate sufficient trade-related assistance to 
     ensure that developing countries can improve their capacity 
     and benefit from increased digital trade; and
       (D) 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 for an agreement 
     facilitating digital trade, the United States Trade 
     Representative and the heads of other relevant Federal 
     agencies must--
       (A) consult closely and on a timely basis with the 
     Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways 
     and Means of the House of Representatives about the substance 
     of those negotiations and the requisite legal authority to 
     bind the United States to any such agreement;
       (B) keep both committees fully apprised of those 
     negotiations; and
       (C) provide to those committees, including staff with 
     appropriate security clearances, adequate access to the text 
     of the negotiating proposal of the United States before 
     presenting the proposal in the negotiations.

                          ____________________