“A bill to authorize the President to enter into digital trade agreements, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section states nine congressional findings on the digital economy, including its contribution of roughly 10% to U.S. gross domestic product and support for approximately 8.9 million U.S. jobs in 2022, U.S. digital services exports of over $655 billion in 2023 (generating a $266.8 billion trade surplus), the importance of digital trade to U.S. workers and businesses, and concerns over discriminatory digital policies in certain countries (e.g., China). It also expresses the sense of Congress that the U.S. should negotiate strong digital trade agreements—as in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement—to promote U.S. values including democracy, rule of law, free speech, human rights, privacy, and a free and open internet, including through cooperation with allies.
This section defines four terms for purposes of the Act: (1) appropriate committees of Congress as the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committee on Ways and Means; (2) country as any foreign country or territory, including any overseas dependent territory or possession of a foreign country; (3) Trade Representative as the United States Trade Representative; and (4) digital trade agreement as an agreement with one or more trusted trade partners entered into under section 4.
This section authorizes the President, subject to requirements under section 5, to negotiate, enter into, and enforce digital trade agreements with one or more foreign countries. In determining whether to initiate negotiations, the President must consider whether the foreign government (1) has expressed interest in such an agreement; (2) has adhered to existing U.S. free trade agreements; (3) has reduced electronic commerce barriers and distortions; (4) has maintained the rule of law through transparent, nondiscriminatory laws and regulations; and (5) has adopted intellectual property protections comparable to U.S. law. Such agreements must apply economy-wide and include provisions for (1) nondiscriminatory treatment of digital products and services; (2) no discriminatory taxes on digital services; (3) free cross-border data flows and no data localization; (4) secure data transfer frameworks promoting end-to-end encryption; (5) consumer protections in e-commerce, including cross-border privacy rules; (6) no forced disclosure of source code, algorithms, or trade secrets; (7) cooperation on emerging technologies such as AI and quantum computing; (8) cybersecurity cooperation; (9) no customs duties on electronic transmissions; (10) promotion of international digital standards; (11) alignment on export controls, sanctions, and investment reviews; (12) regulatory transparency for services; (13) risk-based government procurement of digital hardware and software; (14) other U.S. national interest provisions as determined by the U.S. Trade Representative; and (15) exceptions for public policy and national security objectives.
This section establishes congressional oversight procedures for negotiations and entry into digital trade agreements under section 4(a), including (1) a requirement for the President to provide Congress written notice at least 60 days before initiating negotiations identifying the start date and country; (2) mandates for the U.S. Trade Representative to consult with congressional committees during negotiations (including meetings upon request and access to documents) and before entry (including with all jurisdictionally relevant committees), and to consult relevant federal agencies; (3) a requirement for the President to submit a report to Congress at least 60 days before entry describing the agreement's nature, scope, duration, consistency with the Act's purposes, evidence of the country's eligibility, and implementation effects; and (4) a congressional review period before the agreement takes effect, initially 30 days (extendable by 60 days upon one House's resolution for further review, and further by 30 days upon another such resolution), during which Congress may enact a joint resolution of disapproval to prevent the agreement from taking effect. (Thus, the procedures provide Congress with notice, information access, consultation rights, and ultimate disapproval authority over such agreements.)
This section requires the U.S. Trade Representative to periodically monitor each country's compliance with its commitments under a digital trade agreement and, upon determining a failure to satisfactorily implement, maintain, or enforce those commitments, to submit a report to the President with supporting findings and recommended actions. The section further directs the President, within 30 days of receiving such a report, to determine whether to concur with the Trade Representative's determination and, if concurring, to select and implement within 15 days one of the following actions: (1) suspend, withdraw, or prevent application of the agreement; (2) enter a binding agreement with the country to remedy the noncompliance and provide compensatory trade benefits; or (3) take other actions necessary to encourage compliance.