WASHINGTON - ITI, the global voice of the tech sector, released the following statement from Executive Vice President of Policy Josh Kallmer reacting to the announcement that the United States intends to negotiate bilateral trade agreements with Japan, the European Union, and the United Kingdom:

“Free trade supports millions of jobs and drives growth and innovation in the United States and around the world. Technology plays an increasingly central role in the global economy, and it is important that trade agreements enhance digital trade and allow data to flow freely across borders. We are encouraged by the Trump Administration’s intent to move forward with negotiations, and we look forward to working with all of the governments involved to ensure that these agreements reflect the economic realities of today.”

ITI welcomes the opportunity to modernize these trade relationships with the commitments necessary to enhance digital trade and embrace the role that technology plays in enabling economic growth around the world. These agreements should enable cross-border data flows; prohibit tariffs, taxes, and other barriers on data flows, hardware, and digital services; avoid requirements to localize data, production, or infrastructure; and bar the forced transfer of technology, source code, or encryption keys.

Bilateral trade in digital goods and services reached $283.6 billion in 2017 with Japan, $1.1 trillion in 2016 with the European Union, and $231.9 billion in 2017 with the United Kingdom. Creating robust digital trade frameworks within these agreements will support significant growth, not only in digital goods and services, but in all of the sectors of the economy.

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