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Rep. Beyer (D-VA): It seems that the administration simply does not have a strategy for how to strengthen U.S. leadership in digital trade.
Members of the World Trade Organization are hoping to soon table a negotiating text on domestic services regulations as they push for a multilateral outcome by the WTO's 11th ministerial in Buenos Aires, Argentina, next month.
World Trade Organization Director General Roberto Azevêdo suggested on Tuesday that some WTO members could pursue a plurilateral on domestic regulation in services at the body's 11th ministerial in December.
The British government hopes to ensure the free flow of data with the European Union after it completes its withdrawal from the economic bloc, potentially setting the stage for the European Commission to establish a unified position on data flows.
U.S. Trade Representative nominee Robert Lighthizer, in written responses to questions posed by senators, did not rule out the possibility of resuming negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, but noted that the European Union would not be in a position to do so until the end of the year because of federal elections in France and Germany.
The European Union is not expected to agree internally on language on cross-border data flows in the Trade in Services Agreement until after the spring federal elections in France and fall elections in Germany, according to informed sources, who say progress toward an overall deal also remains stymied by the lack of a known U.S. negotiating position.
A leaked version of the financial services annex of the Trade in Services Agreement shows several parties disagree on how to craft language that would ensure the free flow of data across borders.
The incoming Trump administration will enter into a negotiating fray at the World Trade Organization and will likely decide the fate of three outstanding plurilateral negotiations: the Environmental Goods Agreement, the Trade in Services Agreement, and Fisheries Subsidies Agreement.
Parties to the Trade in Services Agreement negotiations circulated a text outlining the level at which outstanding issues must be discussed to conclude the talks after chief negotiators and ambassadors met in Geneva last week, informed sources said.
Leaked documents from the Trade in Services Agreement negotiations show U.S. proposed language on data flows that appears to attempt to assuage fears from the European Union over privacy issues.
News of President-elect Trump's victory in the presidential election brought negotiations on the Trade in Services Agreement to an abrupt halt, which led to ambassadors determining that a deal could not be reached in time to hold a planned ministerial on Dec. 5-6, according to Geneva and industry sources
Parties to the Trade in Services Agreement decided at a Nov. 18 ambassadors meeting not to hold a ministerial in early December because they will not be able to conclude a deal by that time, according to Geneva sources.
Negotiators for the Trade in Services Agreement appear to be coalescing around language that would resolve one of the key hurdles between the United States and European Union, but enough issues remain that informed sources believe the prospect of concluding the TISA negotiations by a scheduled ministerial next month may be unrealistic.
“I don't know if anyone thinks that a trade deal without the European Union would really have much meaning, to be very frank.”
Some parties to the Trade in Services Agreement are beginning to explore the possibility of concluding a deal without the European Union because of questions over the EU's ability to ratify a finalized deal and its continued deadlock with the United States over new services and data flows, according to multiple sources.