Senators Slam Big Tech Bias in IPEF

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and six of her colleagues have sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, expressing concerns about the impact of including skewed digital trade rules in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF).

The lawmakers argue that these rules could hinder the U.S. government's ability to promote competition, regulate AI, and protect consumer and worker privacy. They are also urging the USTR to prioritize transparency during IPEF negotiations.

The letter, signed by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), David Cicilline (D-R.I.), and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), highlights concerns about Big Tech companies pushing for digital trade rules that would allow them to attack tech regulations as "illegal trade barriers." The lawmakers argue that it is not "trade discrimination" for the U.S. or its trading partners to regulate companies like Google, Meta, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon to protect online competition.

The letter also raises concerns about the lack of transparency in the negotiating process and the speed at which negotiations are proceeding. The lawmakers emphasize the need to prioritize promoting competition in the economy, protecting digital privacy, and advancing a worker-centered trade policy.

This comes amid criticism of the Biden administration's trade policies, such as the proposed IPEF, for containing measures that resemble the neoliberal free-trade era. University of Wisconsin Researcher Wendy Li's paper, "Regulatory Capture's Third Face of Power," details how tech lobbyists have influenced trade negotiators to prioritize industry interests. Li's research found that tech lobbyists have redefined digital trade so that policymakers see no difference between industry interests and national interests.

Despite the IPEF continuing this tradition with a digital trade chapter borrowed from the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), Li asserts that regulatory capture isn't static. The Biden administration has shown some signs of considering alternatives to the tech industry's worldview. However, the digital trade chapter has become institutionalized, making it an uphill battle to change that perspective.