November 15, 2023 – The Coalition for App Fairness (CAF) today sent a letter to President Biden and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai applauding recent developments in digital trade negotiations with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). This letter was co-signed by The CAR Coalition, Digital Content Next, Efani Secure Mobile, Kelkoo Group, News Media Alliance, Proton, The Responsible Online Commerce Coalition (ROCC), and Sonos.
“We appreciate your administration’s recent withdrawal of a provision previously proposed for digital trade talks at the World Trade Organization (WTO) that would have blocked critical efforts to address Big Tech’s monopoly power. In addition, we commend the Biden Administration’s suspension of negotiations on IPEF ‘digital trade’ terms that similarly risked serving the interests of several Big Tech monopolists to the detriment of everyone else” the letter opened.
The letter also highlights the importance of an “all-of-government” approach to ensure that all U.S. businesses can compete fairly and effectively while challenging Big Tech’s attempt to protect their own monopoly power.
The letter continued, “Competition is a bedrock of the U.S. economy. Because of this, the preservation of fair and competitive markets should play a central role in the United States’ foreign trade goals, law, and policy. Your administration’s recent actions with respect to the U.S. approach to digital trade rules rightly adhere to these principles.”
Read the full letter below.
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November 15, 2023
The Honorable Joseph R. Biden
President of the United States of America
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Biden,
We commend your administration’s commitment to advancing fairness and competition through the rules that will govern the global digital economy. More specifically, we appreciate your administration’s recent withdrawal of a provision previously proposed for digital trade talks at the World Trade Organization (WTO) that would have blocked critical efforts to address Big Tech’s monopoly power. In addition, we commend the Biden Administration’s suspension of negotiations on IPEF “digital trade” terms that similarly risked serving the interests of several Big Tech monopolists to the detriment of everyone else.
We also support the decision to appoint U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to the White House Competition Council, which we hope will further your “all-of-government” approach to promoting competition. U.S. trade policy must be in harmony with your administration’s domestic work to address the digital gatekeepers’ anticompetitive conduct. Consistent with this, we urge you to replace the withdrawn and suspended terms with modified digital trade provisions that clearly make room for the effective regulation of the Big Tech monopolists.
Relatedly, we support a strong U.S. International Trade Commission as an important tool for inventors based in the United States to enforce their intellectual property rights against companies that are making infringing products abroad for importation into the United States, including the Big Tech gatekeepers.
Competition is a bedrock of the U.S. economy. Because of this, the preservation of fair and competitive markets should play a central role in the United States’ foreign trade goals, law, and policy. Your administration’s recent actions with respect to the U.S. approach to digital trade rules rightly adhere to these principles.
We thank you and Ambassador Tai for standing up to the handful of Big Tech companies to reject their veiled attempts to hijack trade agreements to protect and extend their monopoly power. Further, we urge you to stay the course to ensure that all U.S. businesses can compete fairly and effectively throughout the globe.
Sincerely,
The Coalition for App Fairness (CAF)
The CAR Coalition
Digital Content Next
Efani Secure Mobile
Kelkoo Group
News Media Alliance
Proton
The Responsible Online Commerce Coalition (ROCC)
Sonos
CC: Ambassador Katherine Tai, United States Trade Representative