________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
For bigger companies , digital trade helps them operate as a single firm in global markets . U . S . telecommunications and information and communication technology ( ICT ) services – as well as business-to-business or B2B operations like manufacturing and wholesaling – have also become digital-forward industries .
How critical is digital trade to the U . S . economy ?
According to the latest U . S . Chamber of Commerce report , The Digital Trade Revolution , digitally tradable exports supported three million direct and indirect U . S . jobs in 2022 alone . Wage growth for digital jobs generally exceeds that for all jobs . The digital economy is expanding nearly three times as rapidly as the economy at large , and the global e-commerce market is expected to total $ 6.3 trillion in 2024 .
Undergirding this transformation are strong digital trade rules that support American growth and innovation , creating high-paying jobs across all these industries . These digital trade protections have promoted growth , prosperity , and dynamism across
industries . Digital trade and the strong rules that promote it represent a key pillar of America ’ s role as an economic leader in a competitive global environment .
But current U . S . policy is abandoning that leadership position . In an abrupt policy change by the Biden Administration last October , the Office of the U . S . Trade Representative ( USTR ) dropped its support for digital trade rules on data flows , data localization , and source code being discussed by the World Trade Organization . Officials wrongly claim that these digital trade rules only benefit big technology firms and disregard that Congress has enshrined them in US law .
U . S . Trade Representative Katherine Tai has been actively pushing this anti-growth agenda , dropping these longstanding digital trade protections at the expense of U . S . businesses and consumers , leading to what will be devastating impacts on the entire American economy .
Critical consequences
Most at risk are American small business exporters . 92 percent of small businesses
22