WASHINGTON DC – National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) President Jake Colvin today issued a statement following the release of a statement and “stabilized text” by negotiators of a World Trade Organization e-commerce agreement:
“The release of a draft WTO e-commerce agreement text sends an important signal of the WTO’s potential to help write new global rules for the digital economy, but it’s also a clear example that other countries will step into a leadership vacuum when the United States steps away.
“Importantly, the agreement would create a durable prohibition on customs duties on electronic transmissions. The text also seeks to improve alignment on digital trade facilitation, cybersecurity, and data privacy, though there’s more work to be done to ensure that those provisions are workable and promote open and fair access to the global digital economy.
“But the fact that other major economies felt emboldened to move on digital trade without the United States is extraordinary. This announcement ought to be a canary in the coal mine for the Harris and Trump campaigns about what happens in the absence of assertive U.S. global economic leadership. If the United States does not take a leadership role in driving the development of rules for the digital economy, other countries will step in.
“There’s an acute need for the United States to engage in some fresh thinking to cement U.S. global technology leadership for the future.”
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About the NFTC
The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) is the premier business association advancing trade and tax policies that support access to the global marketplace. Founded in 1914, NFTC promotes an open, rules-based global economy on behalf of a diverse membership of U.S.-based businesses.
