Software Alliance Calls on Congress to Pass Trade Promotion Authority
Congress should quickly pass Trade Promotion Authority to allow the U.S. to lock down pending free trade agreements that will slash foreign barriers to the U.S. digital economy, said BSA/The Software Alliance in a March 20 letter to Senate Finance…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
and House Ways and Means leadership (here). Those FTAs could ease cross-border data flows, and allow more U.S. sales of software through "digitally-delivered subscription models," said the letter. "In some cases these market access barriers are rationalized on privacy or security concerns, but in many cases they are simply aimed at creating opportunities for domestic entities to the disadvantage of American developers," said the trade group. "Such policies protect neither privacy nor security, and ultimately will hamper economic growth in the markets that enact them." Finance ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., hasn't yet publicly struck a deal with Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, to move forward with TPA legislation (see 1503190021). The letter didn't specifically mention the Trans-Pacific Partnership or the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, but many lawmakers have called for those agreements to break down digital barriers (see 1411040014).