Digitrade Digest #10
USTR to ready tariffs in retaliation to digital service tax against six countries, US and Central Asian countries agree to focus on digital trade issues, G7 on Digital Trade
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North America
U.S., Central Asian countries agree to focus on digital trade issues
Reuters: Senior trade officials from the United States met on Tuesday with their counterparts from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan on a range of trade issues, underscoring their desire to strengthen trade ties among countries in the region, and with the United States.
Participants in the meeting of the U.S.-Central Asia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) also discussed the importance of digital trade for achieving broad-based inclusive economic growth and innovation, they said in a joint statement.
The officials agreed to focus on ensuring the free flow of information across borders, transparency, competition, and non-discrimination, and to include women, small and medium enterprises and other stakeholders, in shaping new policies.
The Northern Triangle is Ready for a Digital Trade Agreement With the United States
deMag: In an innovative approach, the Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative simulated a digital trade negotiation to assess the readiness of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras – individually and as a regional group – to commit to the most rigorous digital trade provisions in effect today. Participants in our simulation included former government trade negotiators, business leaders and tech entrepreneurs, as well as prominent think tanks in Central America. We published the results in a recent report, in which we determine that the countries of the Northern Triangle are ready for a high-standard digital agreement.
Each country has been developing regulations to govern digital transactions and online platforms that are broadly in line with provisions in the most recently concluded digital trade agreements. They include the digital trade chapter of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the U.S.-Japan Digital Trade Agreement, and the groundbreaking Digital Economy Partnership Agreement signed by Singapore, Chile and New Zealand.
The United States already has a free trade agreement with Central America, but it was enacted long before digital chapters became routine in U.S. trade agreements. Concluding a freestanding agreement on digital trade is an expedient and efficient way to add significant value to the free trade agreement already in force.
It would also complement the technical assistance provided by organizations including the Inter-American Development Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation that is focused on building the infrastructure needed to digitize Northern Triangle economies.
A U.S.-Northern Triangle digital trade agreement could also incorporate regulatory cooperation and trade capacity building designed to encourage interoperability of regulations and hard infrastructure in the region, which would reinforce resiliency and attract higher investment.
U.S. trade chief readies tariffs against six countries over digital taxes
Reuters: U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Friday said she was maintaining the threat of U.S. tariffs on goods from Austria, Britain, India, Italy, Spain and Turkey in retaliation for their digital services taxes.
In a statement, Tai announced that her office would proceed with steps to impose potential tariffs, including filing public notices and collecting public comments as part of investigations launched originally by the Trump administration into the taxes aimed largely at American internet companies and e-commerce platforms.
The taxes target in-country revenues of digital services platforms, such as Facebook, Google, and Amazon.com.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced the decision despite Democratic President Joe Biden’s renewed commitments to pursue a global agreement on digital services taxes through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Ambassador Tai releases 2021 National Trade Estimate Report
USTR: The 2021 NTE Report details restrictive data policies in India, China, Korea, Vietnam, and Turkey, among other countries; local software pre-installation requirements in Russia, Indonesian tariffs on digital products, and existing or proposed local content requirements for online streaming services in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, EU, Mexico, Ukraine, and Vietnam; and discriminatory tax measures in Austria, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the UK. USTR will continue to engage foreign governments on digital policies that threaten the regulatory landscape for U.S. exporters of digital products and services and undermine U.S. manufacturers’ and service suppliers’ ability to move data across borders.
You can view the report here.
G7
G7 Trade Ministers’ Meeting – Chair’s Statement
Gov.uk: G7 Trade Ministers recognised the importance of digital trade to growth, innovation, productivity, and prosperity. They recalled the immense opportunities that it offers to our people and our businesses, and they underlined the central role that it can play in the economic recovery from the pandemic. G7 Members are united in their support for open digital markets and their opposition to digital protectionism. As a group of market-based economies governed by the rule of law, they believe that digital markets should be competitive, transparent, and accessible to international trade and investment. They agree on the importance of data free flow with trust, safeguards for consumers and businesses, and digital trading systems that allow goods and services to move seamlessly across borders. G7 Trade Ministers resolve to promote digital trade worldwide and to pursue global governance that is fair and inclusive. They agreed to further develop a set of high-level principles during this Presidency that will guide the G7 approach to digital trade.
Digital trade remains an important area for the creation of new rules at the WTO. The rules governing digital trade should be responsive to innovation and emerging technologies, so that businesses, consumers, and workers can harness their full potential. G7 Trade Ministers committed to redoubling their efforts to advance the Joint Statement Initiative on E-commerce at the World Trade Organization. They aim to achieve substantial progress by the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference.
G7 Trade Ministers look forward to strengthening their dialogue and further advancing a shared agenda at their next meeting in May.
The Digitrade Digest is a weekly publication of the Digital Rights Program at Public Citizen.