CTA Encouraged by Tech Provisions in New NAFTA

The following statement is attributed to Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, Consumer Technology Association (CTA) regarding the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA):

“President Trump is making strong progress on reworking our trade agreements to support U.S. industries. The new NAFTA supports America’s innovation by reducing barriers to digital trade, preventing discrimination of America’s online payment platforms and eliminating technical barriers to trade. We urge USTR to add guidelines on a balanced approach to copyright so that Congress may vote quickly on this pro-tech trade deal.

“Now that an agreement has been reached, the U.S. should lift steel and aluminum tariffs and conclude a deal with China. The global marketplace can’t thrive with high tariffs.”

In particular, these areas of USMCA will help the tech industry in North America flourish:

• Digital trade: Prohibits duties and other discriminatory measures on products distributed electronically, ensures cross-border data transfer, minimizes limits on where data is stored and processed, limits governments’ ability to obtain proprietary computer source code and algorithms and limits liability of Internet platforms for third-party content;

• Financial services: Core obligations – including market access, national treatment and most-favored-nation treatment – prevent  discrimination against U.S. financial services suppliers; and

• Technical barriers to trade: Recognizes more international bodies that can set technology standards, includes provisions to avoid duplicative product testing, sets strong provisions for regulatory transparency and includes an organized approach to technical barriers, regulatory alignment and North American cooperation.