New Cyber Brief: What President Trump's NAFTA Priorities Get Right (and Wrong) About Digital Trade

Anupam Chander argues that a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement could set the gold standard for digital free trade, an opportunity the Trump administration should not miss.
September 18, 2017 9:57 am (EST)

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The Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program has launched a new Cyber Brief. This one examines what the Donald J. Trump administration gets right and wrong about digital trade in its renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The brief was written by Anupam Chander, visiting professor at Georgetown University Law Center and Martin Luther King Jr. professor of law and codirector of the California International Law Center at University of California, Davis.
Digital commerce and trade are increasingly important to the global economy. Seven of the ten most valuable firms today are technology companies (Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, Alibaba, and Tencent). Data, according to some analysts, is the new oil. A major study concluded that the internet has powered some one-fifth of recent economic growth within the leading economies. Jobs are increasingly dependent on digitization; digital skills are needed for all but two job categories [PDF] in the United States: dishwashing and food cooking.
Chander argues that the NAFTA renegotiation is an excellent opportunity to set the gold standard for digital free trade. In its negotiations with Canada and Mexico, the Trump administration should seek rules limiting data localization, promote a balanced approach to intellectual property protections, support cross-border privacy rules, and remove barriers that hinder the trade of services.
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You can find the full brief here.
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