Thursday’s passage of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) in the House is a win for U.S. exports and manufacturing and a strong sign of support for policies that promote economic growth – at home and abroad. Now, as the TPA debate shifts back to the Senate for a final vote, we urge the Upper House to pass this legislation and support the 21st century digital economy.
In May, the Senate passed TPA 62-37, with bipartisan support; next week they’ll have another opportunity to affirm the administration’s executive authority to negotiate much-needed international trade agreements. The TPA bill will restore this administration’s, as well as the next, authority to negotiate trade pacts on which Congress can vote only Yes or No — without amendments or filibusters. That authority was allowed to lapse in 2007, amid partisan politicking between a Republican president and a Democratic Congress, roles that have since reversed.
Representing more than 2,000 U.S. consumer technology companies, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® strongly supports this legislation, which will help pass future trade agreements that will eliminate unnecessary tariffs and other barriers that are unduly burdening U.S. trade, creating a more open and equitable global market for consumer technology, specifically, intellectual property and digital goods and services, as well as cross-border data flows.
Given how vital international trade is to the U.S. economy, we hope to see a rally at the finish line with a strong bipartisan backing. Nearly 40 million American jobs are sustained by trade. Failure to pass TPA will limit our ability to pass future trade agreements – such as the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership with 11 Pacific Rim nations – and set the U.S. back as much as a decade as a global economic power.
Technology hardware and software are a significant percentage of U.S. exports around the world. What’s more, the proliferation of the Internet, the transfer of digital data and the digital delivery of goods and services have created tremendous opportunities for innovative companies – large and small – transforming the U.S. high-tech sector. Yet, as this sector has evolved, so too have the challenges affecting the ability of our member companies to access global markets.
The current rules on trade enabled by the Internet and online platforms are murky. As a result, some countries are erecting new barriers to U.S. companies exporting digital products and services, and continue creating impediments for technology hardware and semiconductor companies to gain access to their markets.
This TPA legislation reinforces long-standing U.S. trade positions with respect to technology trade – for instance, guidance that future trade agreements take the Internet and digital economy into consideration. This guidance will help pave the way for strong new provisions against forced localization measures and protect cross-border data flows – ensuring the burgeoning demand for our companies’ digital goods and services is not thwarted by foreign governments before it is fully developed. TPA also helps to create creates a “gold standard” framework for global trade that reflects today’s digital economy and the growing importance of the technology and Internet sectors.
TPA is an opportunity for President Obama to build a lasting legacy by unifying Democrats and Republicans in support of a single, critical mission: future U.S. economic growth and prosperity. We urge the Senate to grant the president trade promotion authority and secure the future of our digital economy.
Gary Shapiro is president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)®, the U.S. trade association representing more than 2,000 consumer electronics companies, and author of the New York Times best-selling books, Ninja Innovation: The Ten Killer Strategies of the World’s Most Successful Businesses and The Comeback: How Innovation Will Restore the American Dream. His views are his own. Connect with him on Twitter: @GaryShapiro
