Digitrade Digest #65
India and EU will focus on digital trade, Google wants a free flow of data and more….
India
India-EU FTA talks to focus on digital trade, data security, sustainability: Sources
HindustanTimes: “While the negotiations for both the FTA and an investment protection agreement are progressing simultaneously, the two treaties will be signed separately and the investment protection agreement will not be part of the FTA text,” said an official, on conditions of anonymity.
In digital trade, the two sides are focusing on fostering innovation while respecting individual freedoms, the people said. “You have to find a mid-point between the US system of laissez faire and the Chinese model of controlling everything. There has to be free flow of data with trust,” one of the people said, adding that the two sides were aligned in principle on the localisation of data, but still “not on the same page”.
The link between trade and sustainable development, already part of a FTA finalised by the EU and New Zealand last month, was unveiled by the European Commission in June as part of measures to make the bloc’s trade greener and more sustainable. This is also part of a plan to enhance the contribution of EU trade pacts in protecting climate, environment and labour rights.
Speaking at the time, EU commissioner for trade Valdis Dombrovskis said the bloc will step up enforcement and even “resort to sanctions” if key labour and climate commitments are not met.
The people said the proposed India-EU FTA will be much broader and ambitious than any trade deal recently concluded by New Delhi. “The India-United Arab Emirates comprehensive economic partnership agreement is very broad and shallow, while the India-Australia economic cooperation and trade agreement is interim and narrow. This will be very different,” one of the people said.
EU
NEXT TTC MEETING: TRADE DEAL ON THE SLY?
Politico: THE NEXT ROUND OF TRANSATLANTIC TALKS will take place somewhere in the United States, mostly like in December. But EU and U.S. (trade) officials met in Washington last week to hammer out potential outcomes for the latest chapter of the Trade and Technology Council. And while few would like to admit it, the trade part of the project is trying all that it can to push greater transatlantic trade links. That includes expected reaffirmation of EU and U.S. sanctions against Europe, efforts to harmonize approaches to setting global (trade) standards and greater cooperation on everything from semiconductors to electric car charging infrastructure.
Officials on both sides of the Atlantic are adamant the Trade and Tech Council isn’t an effort to restart official transatlantic trade talks. But it’s hard not to see some, but not all, of the discussions ahead of the next meeting as an effort to build closer trading links between Europe and the U.S. “There weren’t exactly many digital officials who went to Washington,” one (grumbling) official told me, speaking on the condition of anonymity. I should point out that those digital-focused discussions, particularly related to social media governance, continue elsewhere. But fostering a closer trading relationship is certainly back on the agenda.
US
Politico: WHAT TO EXPECT FROM WASHINGTON BEFORE THE MIDTERMS
THE TIME IS TICKING DOWN until the U.S. midterms. Yet the raft of digital rules — everything from federal privacy reforms to new digital competition rules to the White House’s efforts to promote the “open internet” to the world — coming from Washington is poised on a knife edge. To figure out what, if anything, is going to happen in the coming weeks before campaigning really gets underway, I called Karen Kornbluh, a former Barack Obama administration official and current director of the Digital Innovation and Democracy Initiative at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a think tank.
On where the U.S. is on digital rulemaking: “It hasn’t been easy. The U.S. is playing catch-up on other parts of the world, especially Europe. The September vote (on who will be the new secretary general at the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union, where an American is taking on a Russian candidate) will be huge in terms of Washington’s ability to project its international role.”
On what Washington’s playbook looks like: “We have to be able to help as many countries as we can to keep accessing an open internet. That is something that the U.S. is dedicated to. We’ve been great on the cybersecurity piece (of policymaking). Those are areas where the U.S. still believes in.”
On Congressional action ahead of the midterms: “There’s under a 50 percent chance of getting federal privacy reforms done before the midterms. The Roe vs Wade (abortion) decision has made privacy issues real and tangible for people. People are realizing that their personal information is for sale out there.”
On American credibility on digital: “For the U.S. to be credible internationally, it’s hard when we can take the basic steps at home on things like privacy. There are all these internationally important things (related to digital rulemaking) where the U.S. is not seen to be doing anything.”
Kenya
U.S. doesn't rule out more comprehensive trade negotiations with Kenya
Reuters: Bianchi said U.S. trade officials viewed the agreement with Kenya as a potential model for other countries. Officials would focus in coming months on hammering out high-standard agreements in areas such as agriculture safety and digital trade standards, climate change and customs procedures.
She said there could be future talks on a broader deal with Kenya, as U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal has suggested, but said the next "several months" would be focused on the just-announced partnership.
"We haven't ruled out doing more comprehensive negotiations," Bianchi told Reuters in an interview, when asked if Washington could pursue a free trade agreement with Kenya. "Our goal right now is to expand the bilateral relationship and get agreement on a whole number of these important issues."
No other African countries had yet expressed interest in a non-tariff partnership deal like the one with Kenya, but that could happen as well, she said.
"Kenya has really stepped forward and this could be a model for things going forward," she said. "We don't have any immediate plans with any other countries but certainly all eyes are on this initiative and seeing if it becomes a model.”
The United States and Kenya on Thursday launched a strategic trade and investment partnership focused on boosting economic growth, supporting African regional economic integration and deepening trade cooperation, but made no mention of reducing tariffs or enhancing market access.
The deal calls for the U.S. and Kenyan governments to start work within three months on a road map for engagement in areas including agriculture safety and digital trade standards, climate change, regulatory practices, and customs procedures.
Big Tech
Google backs global cross-border privacy rules, removal of third-party cookie
ABSCBNNews: Tech giant Google said it will support the new Global Cross Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) system which is a movement by jurisdictions and companies to protect users' privacy rights, Google Chief privacy officer Keith Enright said Thursday.
The movement is an important step in ensuring privacy is protected as global regulatory requirements evolve and as users rely more and more on the internet, Enright told Asian media in a briefing.
"What we’re trying to work with our partners in government, as well as with others in industry, with efforts like the global CBPR system, is to drive an interoperable framework that will allow companies like Google to continue moving data across jurisdictions as necessary to support products and services that people come to expect when they’re using the internet," he added.
Although the CBPR is not meant to replace any existing rules or treaties between jurisdictions, it would ensure collaboration to provide an enabling environment and protection across participating jurisdictions, he said.
The Philippines' National Privacy Commission said Canada, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, and the United States of America currently participate in the APEC CBPR System.
Free flow of data key for global internet: Google
ET: Tech titan Google on Thursday advocated the free flow of information for the global internet and digital economy while cautioning against the creation of "damaging or harmful impediments" to cross-border data transfers.
Google's global chief privacy officer, Keith Enright said the internet, by its very nature and functionality, reflects the ability to move data freely across jurisdictional boundaries. This includes sending email, video conferencing, and various other features, all of which require the free flow of data across borders.
The comments assume significance as India is putting in place a data protection framework that contains rules related to cross-border flow of information, and data localisation obligations. In the past, US tech companies and advocacy groups have raised concerns over strict data localisation norms and proposed restrictions on cross-border data transfer . Enright, at a virtual briefing, noted that global internet and digital economy rely on free flow of information.
"We are concerned when we see legal requirements that could create impediments to the way that the internet operates in that regard. So we try to engage collaboratively with legislators and regulators to ensure that we can continue providing our services everywhere in the world in a way that people have come to expect," Enright said.
Asked whether India's proposed data protection legislation would be a limiting factor for big tech firms and their operations in India, Enright said that Google's local teams in India and global public policy teams continue to engage with policymakers locally and around the world, on such issues.
The company is frequently involved in conversations about aspects like data localisation or data sovereignty.
"Generally, when we have a conversation about this, we try to understand what are the underlying policy objectives that are trying to be advanced in that legislation. And how can we meet those policy objectives without creating damaging or harmful impediments on cross border data transfers, which are necessary for the internet to operate." he said.
To another question on India's new cybersecurity directives, Enright refused to be drawn into discussion on individual legal requirements.
"Our committment is that we will comply with applicable legal requirements, in jurisdictions where our products and services are offered. But we will do so in the manner that is most protective of our users. We will continue innovating to provide the strongest privacy and security protections, irrespective of where user sits," he said.
EUROPE’S DIGITAL RULES ARE COMING SOONER THAN YOU THINK
Politico: UNLESS YOU’VE BEEN HIDING UNDER A ROCK, you’ll have noticed that the European Union revamped its digital rules via the Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act, respectively. It’s a one-two punch aimed at reducing the online dominance of a small number of so-called digital gatekeepers, as well as requiring social media companies, search engines and e-commerce players to take greater responsibility for what is published or sold on their platforms.
Now comes the hard part: figuring out how to enforce these rules that, while aimed at the 27-country bloc, will have a knock-on effect across the West. Big Tech companies are expected to apply some, but not all, of this regulation more broadly, particularly when it comes to policing online hate. Already, the White House is looking to piggyback on Europe’s demands for social media giants to carry out risk assessments on where their networks may lead to abuse.
Both rules won’t really be felt for another year, if not longer. But in the depths of the European Commission — the EU’s executive branch that will enforce the proposals — things are already starting to whirr into action. Officials have held initial meetings with tech giants likely to be designated as “gatekeepers,” according to three people with knowledge of the matter. That designation will limit how the likes of Apple or Amazon can expand into potential new markets.
European officials, too, are preparing to lay out their demands for social media and e-commerce companies as soon as September about what their obligations will be under the Digital Services Act, according to two separate officials. All spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal meetings. Those discussions are expected to lead to the first obligations — most likely requests for information about how social media content is spread — as early as March 2023.
To meet these new obligations, the Commission is gearing up to hire or redeploy almost 200 people to enforce its new playbook. The expectation is that officials from Brussels’ competition and digital units will work in tandem, though turf wars have already flared up given that EU antitrust enforcers are not accustomed to sharing power with anyone else. A dozen or more new content-focused officials are expected to get to work by the end of the year.
If that doesn’t sound like a lot of people, you’re not wrong. Given how much Europe has played up its digital regulatory revamp, the bloc has failed to think through how to actually fund effective enforcement. Under the new content rules, Brussels will garner up to $32 million annually from a levy imposed on the likes of Meta and Alphabet. But that’s not really going to cut it, given how much material the newly-minted regulators are going to have to wade through.
Officials play down such fear, claiming existing resources — and help from national governments — can fill any gaps. But because tech giants are likely going to appeal potential blockbuster fines for any potential wrongdoing, the EU will need all the firepower it can muster to see off such legal challenges. So far, the new rules, although not perfect, are a step forward. Actually enforcing them, however, is still not a sure thing.