[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 155 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 30, 2023
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
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
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.
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 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.
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