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In a little over a week, we will gather together with loved ones for a uniquely American holiday to give thanks across the country. Of the many things we are grateful for, trade may not be the first to come to mind, but with one out of every five U.S. jobs depending on trade, we actually should be thankful for it. Over the past few decades trade has become a maligned issue. But the old talking points [...]
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I’m in San Francisco for the first ACEEE Intelligent Efficiency Conference, “Mainstreaming Intelligent Efficiency.” After attending last night’s opening reception, I can tell this is going to be a great mashup of the energy efficiency and the information and communications technology (ICT) communities. These groups are traditionally unaccustomed to meeting together but will be coming together more [...]
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DATELINE BEIJING – At a press briefing this morning, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman announced a much-anticipated breakthrough in the negotiations to expand product coverage of the Information Technology Agreement (ITA). Coming on the margins of this year’s summit convened by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders, this bilateral agreement between the United States and China [...]
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DATELINE BEIJING – The deadlock to expand product coverage of the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) continues following conclusion today of the meeting of ministers of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies. The joint declaration that emerged from the gathering was certainly supportive of ITA expansion, which suggests some progress. But the behind-the-scenes negotiations to get [...]
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In July when President Obama issued the “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” executive order (E.O. 13673), he made it a point to note that the “vast majority” of federal contractors play by the rules and would likely not be impacted by it, and instead said he wanted to crack down on a small number of companies who do repeatedly break the law. It left many in the contracting community scratching their heads [...]
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DATELINE BEIJING – Following the closing of polluting industries around Beijing and strict traffic limitations, the promise of clear skies in this chronically smoggy capital runs high in the lead up to the November 10-11 summit of the leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies. In addition to possible progress on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the question looming largest for [...]
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More state technology departments are considering formalizing a process for evaluating the performance of information technology (IT) vendors. The overarching goal is certainly laudable – providing the state procurement community with a comprehensive tool to reduce risk in the contract award process. And while it may identify vendors who exceed performance expectations, it also may wrongly disadvantage [...]
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The 19th Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-14) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is half over, so I thought this might be a good time to offer a few observations from Busan. The ITU is not going away: Next year, the ITU marks 150 years in existence. In spite of all its myriad financial, institutional, and administration challenges – and there are many – this institution is going to be [...]
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Washington is full of speculation about Tuesday’s election and what Congress may or may not consider in the lame duck session. With lawmakers set to return from the campaign trail soon, it is time to remind Congress of some unfinished business they could quickly act on that will go a long way in helping tech companies here in the U.S. and in the global marketplace. FISA Reform. In the Senate, we are [...]
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Earlier this week, ITI submitted comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in connection with the agency’s workshop last month that explored the impact of big data on consumers, including low income and underserved consumers. I attended the workshop, and based on the discussion at the event, there’s no doubt that there is widespread recognition that big data can yield tremendous benefits to consumers [...]
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