WASHINGTON – Today, global tech trade association ITI encouraged the United States and United Kingdom to achieve a state-of-the-art trade agreement that will set the standard for innovation and growth globally. As the two countries begin negotiations, ITI outlined recommendations for the U.S. and U.K. to secure strong, modern commitments in 10 priority areas, including digital trade.

“The U.S. and UK are the world’s leading exporters of digitally-delivered services,” ITI wrote. “They are each other’s most important cross-border e-commerce markets, and among each other’s biggest trading partners for digitally-enabled services. An agreement reflecting commercially meaningful rules-based and market access commitments as well as sound, transparent, risk-based approaches to regulation will set the stage for digital trade and innovation to flourish across the Atlantic.”

ITI encouraged U.S. and UK negotiators to work toward an advanced agreement on digital trade that sets a new standard for future trade agreements around the world. To achieve this, ITI outlined the digital trade principles that should be incorporated, including:

  • Strengthen transatlantic data flows and prohibit data localization to provide businesses with the certainty that they will be able to continue to move and store data across the Atlantic, and to demonstrate the compatibility of commercially meaningful commitments on data with the world’s most robust data protection regulatory frameworks;
  • Prohibit tariffs and customs formalities on electronic transmissions and enshrine non-discriminatory treatment of digital products;
  • Ensure protection of personal data, taking into account best international practices for privacy and interoperability;
  • Strengthen and expand good regulatory practices for digital trade, including as a means to promote emerging technologies like AI and machine learning, in accordance with the OECD principles, and risk-based approaches to cybersecurity; and
  • Prohibit requirements to disclose source code, algorithms, and proprietary information relating to cryptography.

In addition to digital trade, ITI underscored broad, modernized tech sector priorities for a comprehensive U.S.-UK trade agreement in the areas of: regulatory compatibility and technical barriers to trade, where provisions should promote reliance on global standards and foster convergence with respect to the regulation of digital services and emerging technology; services and goods market access; taxation; customs and trade facilitation; electronic payment services; competition policy; intellectual property; government procurement; and investment, trust and security.

Read the full recommendations from ITI here.

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