Wyden Statement on Ambassador Tai's Decision to Abandon Digital Trade Leadership to China at WTO

Press Release

"USTR's decision to walk away from the negotiating table in Geneva is a win for China, plain and simple. In addition to abandoning our democratic allies in these negotiations, USTR is leaving a vacuum that China--an active participant in these negotiations--will be more than pleased to fill. USTR's action today is a win for the Chinese government's efforts to have unlimited access to U.S. data, a win for Chinese tech giants who want to bully smaller countries into following the Chinese model of internet censorship, and a win for China's Great Firewall, which locks out American companies and locks Chinese citizens into a repressive regime of government surveillance. The U.S. can regulate companies operating in America without giving a green light to the malign efforts of China, Russia, and others who want to mine data for economic and security benefits, censor citizens at home and abroad, and abuse human rights.

USTR's unilateral decision to abandon any leverage against China's digital expansionism, and to oppose policies championed by allies like Australia, Japan, the U.K. and Korea, directly contradicts its mission as delegated by Congress. It may be time to reconsider the degree of that delegation going forward."

Source