Page 20 - THE SOUTH CHINA BUSINESS JOURNAL
P. 20
C. TODAY
Digital Trade
Rules Benefit
Every Sector
of the U.S. Economy
Strong digital rules are critical to growth, innovation, and hiring,
from autos to agriculture and manufacturing to financial services.
By Isabelle Icso, Director, International Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
The ability of U.S. companies of all sizes to medtech, agriculture, insurance, financial
access and move data globally drives wealth services, auto and transportation sectors, to
creation and is critical to America’s prosperity. Over name a few. Consider these:
the years, the U.S. and its allies have negotiated
agreements to support cross-border data flows Semiconductors
among reliable trading partners, guard against
digital protectionism, and allow parties to pursue The seamless and unimpeded flow of
non-discriminatory domestic digital policies. semiconductor research, designs, software,
manufacturing information, and other development
However, the Office of the U.S. Trade data within and across borders has been essential
Representative (USTR) announced in October it was in making the U.S. semiconductor industry strong.
walking back longstanding U.S. support for strong
digital trade rules, even though these represent Every step in the semiconductor manufacturing
well-established and bipartisan positions that were value chain involves the movement of data—
most recently enshrined in U.S. law in the United from design to wafer manufacturing to back-
States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). end assembly, testing, packaging, sales, and
distribution. A single semiconductor fab can
Specifically, USTR withdrew support for proposals on: generate several petabytes of data per day.
1. Due process measures with respect to cross- This data can include information about the
border data flows and data localization restrictions; chemical composition of materials used in the
2. Protections for source code vis-à-vis forced manufacturing process, measurements of the
access; and physical characteristics of individual chips, and
3. Protections from trading partner discrimination data from sensors that monitor the manufacturing
against U.S.-made digital products. equipment. Much of the relevant data crosses
international borders on a daily basis.
What’s lost in the debate is that this decision
doesn’t hurt “Big Tech” so much as the multitude For R&D specifically, the semiconductor industry
of sectors of the U.S. economy, as well as requires round-the-clock collaboration between
American small businesses, workers, consumers, companies, universities, and research institutions
and entrepreneurs that depend on the digital across different countries and regions, as global
economy. This includes industries such as teams work in various markets to bring new
semiconductors, manufacturing, biopharma,
17 AMCHAM SOUTH CHINA
Digital Trade
Rules Benefit
Every Sector
of the U.S. Economy
Strong digital rules are critical to growth, innovation, and hiring,
from autos to agriculture and manufacturing to financial services.
By Isabelle Icso, Director, International Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
The ability of U.S. companies of all sizes to medtech, agriculture, insurance, financial
access and move data globally drives wealth services, auto and transportation sectors, to
creation and is critical to America’s prosperity. Over name a few. Consider these:
the years, the U.S. and its allies have negotiated
agreements to support cross-border data flows Semiconductors
among reliable trading partners, guard against
digital protectionism, and allow parties to pursue The seamless and unimpeded flow of
non-discriminatory domestic digital policies. semiconductor research, designs, software,
manufacturing information, and other development
However, the Office of the U.S. Trade data within and across borders has been essential
Representative (USTR) announced in October it was in making the U.S. semiconductor industry strong.
walking back longstanding U.S. support for strong
digital trade rules, even though these represent Every step in the semiconductor manufacturing
well-established and bipartisan positions that were value chain involves the movement of data—
most recently enshrined in U.S. law in the United from design to wafer manufacturing to back-
States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). end assembly, testing, packaging, sales, and
distribution. A single semiconductor fab can
Specifically, USTR withdrew support for proposals on: generate several petabytes of data per day.
1. Due process measures with respect to cross- This data can include information about the
border data flows and data localization restrictions; chemical composition of materials used in the
2. Protections for source code vis-à-vis forced manufacturing process, measurements of the
access; and physical characteristics of individual chips, and
3. Protections from trading partner discrimination data from sensors that monitor the manufacturing
against U.S.-made digital products. equipment. Much of the relevant data crosses
international borders on a daily basis.
What’s lost in the debate is that this decision
doesn’t hurt “Big Tech” so much as the multitude For R&D specifically, the semiconductor industry
of sectors of the U.S. economy, as well as requires round-the-clock collaboration between
American small businesses, workers, consumers, companies, universities, and research institutions
and entrepreneurs that depend on the digital across different countries and regions, as global
economy. This includes industries such as teams work in various markets to bring new
semiconductors, manufacturing, biopharma,
17 AMCHAM SOUTH CHINA
