Today, CCIA sent letters to the United States Trade
Representative (USTR) expressing our desire to see Canada,
Japan
and Mexico’s
unconditional participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks.
As three of our four biggest trading partners, Canada, Japan
and Mexico’s inclusion in the TPP is essential to ensuring our biggest trading
partners are operating under the same “high standard” trade framework. Besides the obvious gains to be won in further liberalizing trade in these huge markets, having these
major trading partners all operating under the same or similar rules would
reduce red tape and enhance efficiency.
In terms of broadband
connections, Japan is the second biggest OECD market in the world for
Internet services (behind only the United States) and Canada is in the top 10. Mexico is not too far behind, and is growing
fast. And as the second biggest Spanish
speaking Internet market in the world it presents U.S. companies with a huge
stepping-stone to the rest of the Spanish speaking markets throughout the
Americas and in Europe. For U.S. Internet and technology
companies, including these major markets is a must and will help the TPP
realize its potential of becoming a truly gold-standard template for
twenty-first century Trans-Pacific trade rules.
Also, CCIA urges trade negotiators to address Internet
issues (such as the free
flow of information and cross-border
data flows), as it would be inconceivable for this self proclaimed twenty-first
century trade agreement to not make the single biggest economic
activity reshuffler of the modern age a major focus of this effort. If significant attention is paid to
liberalizing and protecting the open nature of cross-border information and
data flows, economic
data suggests that all trade, not just Internet services trade, will
benefit. Furthermore, CCIA encourages trade
negotiators to take notice of the recent firestorm generated by SOPA and PIPA
in the United States and ensure that intellectual property protections are
balanced with targeted exceptions, such as DMCA-like
safe harbors and fair-use,
that have allowed the Internet industry to thrive in the United States.
