Title: 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.
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance

Summary:
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should negotiate and enforce rules on digital trade and the digital economy with like-minded countries as part of its broader trade and economic strategy.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1294 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1294

 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

                             July 28, 2022

    Ms. DelBene (for herself, Mr. LaHood, Mr. Bera, Mr. Chabot, Mr. 
    Blumenauer, and Mr. Smith of Nebraska) 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.

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 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;
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;
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 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 
        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 House of Representatives 
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 its 
        broader trade and economic strategy to address digital barriers 
        and 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 the digital world and 
        advanced technology;
            (2) in doing so, the United States must--
                    (A) pursue digital trade rules that serve the best 
                interests of workers, consumers, and small- and medium-
                sized enterprises;
                    (B) empower American workers;
                    (C) fuel wage growth;
                    (D) take actions that lead to materially positive 
                economic outcomes for all Americans;
                    (E) ensure that any future agreement prevents 
                against nondemocratic, coercive, or overly restrictive 
                policies that would harm the ability for a free and 
                open internet and e-commerce marketplace to continue to 
                grow and thrive;
                    (F) coordinate sufficient trade-related assistance 
                to ensure that developing countries can improve their 
                capacity and benefit from increased digital trade; and
                    (G) 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 of an agreement 
        facilitating digital trade, the United States Trade 
        Representative and other relevant Federal departments and 
        agencies must consult closely and on a timely basis with the 
        Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and 
        the Committee on Finance in the Senate about the substance of 
        such negotiations and the requisite legal authority to bind the 
        United States to any agreement, keep both committees fully 
        apprised of those negotiations, and provide to those 
        committees, including staff with appropriate security 
        clearances, adequate access to the text of the negotiating 
        proposal of the United States before tabling the proposal in 
        the negotiation.
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