House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is opening an investigation into the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). The investigation seeks to understand how much influence outside organizations may have had on the October 2023 decision to abandon digital trade principles, which the U.S. first put forward in 2019. At the time, Trade Representative Katherine Tai said the decision would give Congress more ability to regulate Big Tech.
Digital trade is part of daily life. Buying something on Amazon? That’s digital trade. An email with a document to e-sign? That’s digital trade. Trying to buy Eras tour tickets for the shows in Madrid? That’s international digital trade.
The rules and principles that governments create to regulate digital trade impact how your information is sent and stored. The House investigation is looking into how third parties may have changed that.
“New documents brought forward through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request shed light on robust and sometimes clandestine engagement efforts made by USTR officials through their cozy relationships with former colleagues who work as ideological advocates outside of government,” Comer wrote in a letter to Tai. “Some of these individuals are associated with efforts to advance the interests of favored businesses over competitors and consumer welfare.”
The trade principles were first proposed by the Trump administration in 2019 and had strong bipartisan support. Similar provisions were included in the USMCA trade agreement, which Congress approved in January 2020.
When the decision was made in October, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said it was made with “virtually zero consultation with Congress.”
“USTR’s unilateral decision to abandon any leverage against China’s digital expansionism and to oppose policies championed by allies like Australia, Japan, the U.K. and Korea, directly contradicts its mission as delegated by Congress,” Wyden said in a statement. “It may be time to reconsider the degree of that delegation going forward.”
Tai’s decision received support from 87 House Democrats. However, in January, nearly 50 members of Congress wrote to Tai, FTC Chair Lina Kahn and Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter.
“It is shocking that USTR’s political leadership has chosen to retract its backing for long-standing, bipartisan core trade values that safeguard against compelled technology transfers, data localization, source code disclosure and further discriminatory trade practices,” the lawmakers said.
“Ambassador Tai reasserted our rights to limit the flow of Americans’ data to such countries by withdrawing U.S. support for Trump-era WTO proposals that granted data brokers and digital platforms all but total control of Americans’ data,” the group, led by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said.
Concern about the USTR’s lack of consultation with Congress goes back to May of 2022. A bipartisan group of senators led by Wyden wrote to Tai and accused the USTR of not living up to its own standards when negotiating a deal with the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
Comer wants the trade representative’s office to hand over communications on the messaging app Signal or other non-official communications channels and all correspondence between USTR employees and individuals at certain nongovernmental organizations — including New America, Public Citizen and Center for Digital Democracy.
Comer is also requesting memos, notes and other internal communications related to digital trade negotiations.
Comer wants the documents by March 18.