IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 270 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives 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 American 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 30, 2023 

Mr. LAHOOD (for himself, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. SMITH of Nebraska, and Mr. 

BERA) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign 

Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives 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 American 

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. 


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•HRES 270 IH 

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 United States Bureau of Economic Analysis 

found that the digital economy contributed 10.2 percent 

of United States gross domestic product and supported 

7,800,000 American jobs in 2020; 

Whereas the tech-commerce ecosystem added 1,400,000 jobs 

between 2017 and 2021, and served as the main job-creating sector in 40 States; 

Whereas American 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 increase 

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 United States digital services trade surplus 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 American workers and businesses of all sizes, including the 

countless small- and medium-sized enterprises that use 


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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 startups; 

Whereas international supply chains are becoming increasingly digitized and data driven, and businesses in a variety of industries, such as construction, health care, transportation, and aerospace, invested heavily in digital supply chain technologies in 2020; 

Whereas United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai 

said that ‘‘there 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 traditional 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 coronavirus pandemic has led to increased uptake and reliance on digital technologies, data flows, and 

e-commerce; 


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Whereas 90 percent of United States adults say that the 

internet has been essential or important for them personally during the coronavirus outbreak; 

Whereas American 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 due to 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 a patchwork of plurilateral digital trade agreements 

in the Indo-Pacific region have emerged, creating a set 

of rules on digital governance to which the United States 

is not a party; 

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; 


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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 of its allies and 

partners; 

Whereas these countries are attempting to advance their own 

digital rules on a global scale; 

Whereas certain practices, such as overly restrictive data localization requirements and limitations on cross border 

data flows that do not achieve legitimate public policy objectives, intellectual property rights infringement, policies 

which make market access contingent on forced technology transfers or voluntary transfers subject to coercive 

terms, web filtering, economic espionage, cybercrime exposure, and state-directed theft of trade secrets, are just 

some examples of the plethora of nontariff barriers to 

digital trade that have emerged around the globe; 

Whereas certain countries are pursuing or have implemented 

digital policies that unfairly discriminate against innovative United States technology companies and American 

workers that create and deliver digital products and services; 

Whereas the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 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 Department of State’s 2020 Country Reports on 

Human Rights Practices highlighted significant human 


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rights issues committed by the PRC 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 United States allies and trading partners 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 American values so that workers are treated fairly, 

small businesses can compete and win in the global econVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR270.IH HR270

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omy, 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 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that— 

3 (1) the United States should negotiate strong, 

4 inclusive, forward-looking, and enforceable rules on 

5 digital trade and the digital economy with like-mind6 ed countries as part of its broader trade and eco7 nomic strategy to address digital barriers and ensure 

8 American values of democracy, rule of law, freedom 

9 of speech, human and worker rights, privacy, and a 

10 free and open internet are at the very core of the 

11 digital world and advanced technology; 

12 (2) in doing so, the United States must— 


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1 (A) pursue digital trade rules that serve 

2 the best interests of workers, consumers, and 

3 small- and medium-sized enterprises; 

4 (B) empower American workers; 

5 (C) fuel wage growth; 

6 (D) take actions that lead to materially 

7 positive economic outcomes for all Americans; 

8 (E) ensure that any future agreement pre9 vents against nondemocratic, coercive, or overly 

10 restrictive policies that would harm the ability 

11 for a free and open internet and e-commerce 

12 marketplace to continue to grow and thrive; 

13 (F) coordinate sufficient trade-related as14 sistance to ensure that developing countries can 

15 improve their capacity and benefit from in16 creased digital trade; and 

17 (G) consult closely with all relevant stake18 holders, including workers, consumers, small19 and medium-sized enterprises, civil society 

20 groups, and human rights advocates; and 

21 (3) with respect to any negotiations of an 

22 agreement facilitating digital trade, the United 

23 States Trade Representative and other relevant Fed24 eral departments and agencies must consult closely 

25 and on a timely basis with the Committee on Ways 


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1 and Means of the House of Representatives and the 

2 Committee on Finance of the Senate about the sub3 stance of such negotiations and the requisite legal 

4 authority to bind the United States to any agree5 ment, keep both committees fully apprised of those 

6 negotiations, and provide to those committees, in7 cluding staff with appropriate security clearances, 

8 adequate access to the text of the negotiating pro9 posal of the United States before tabling the pro10 posal in the negotiation. 

Æ 


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