On Thursday, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai made remarks at the Aspen Security Forum defending her decision to withdraw support for key digital trade positions in World Trade Organization (WTO) talks. Tai argued that fighting for trade provisions addressing free cross-border data flows and data localization demands would be “getting out ahead” of debates in the U.S. around tech policy.

“There should be no debate that U.S. global leadership in the tech sector is good for American jobs, opportunity, and foreign policy,” said Chamber of Progress CEO Adam Kovacevich. “While anti-tech crusaders will do anything to break the U.S.’s own tech sector, a majority of Americans see U.S. leadership in tech as something to champion, not downsize. We shouldn’t let our trade policy be taken captive by the fringes.”

Polling released by Chamber of Progress shows that a majority of Democrats and Republicans believe the US should strengthen its own regulations on US tech companies, but oppose discriminatory regulations abroad.

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Chamber of Progress (progresschamber.org) is a center-left tech industry policy coalition promoting technology’s progressive future.  We work to ensure that all Americans benefit from technological leaps, and that the tech industry operates responsibly and fairly.  

Our corporate partners do not have a vote on or veto over our positions. We do not speak for individual partner companies and remain true to our stated principles even when our partners disagree.