CCAGW Joins Coalition Opposing Biden's Surrender on Digital Trade | Council For Citizens Against Government Waste

CCAGW Joins Coalition Opposing Biden's Surrender on Digital Trade

Letters to Officials

The Honorable Jason Smith
1011 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C., 20515-2508

January 11, 2024

Dear Chairman Smith:

We write in opposition to the Biden administration’s decision to surrender leadership on digital trade rules to China. Left unchecked, these policies will damage the American economy and undermine American economic leadership abroad.

Thank you for your strong leadership on this issue. We stand ready to support your efforts to push back against the Biden administration’s recklessness in this area.

American ingenuity and leadership largely created the modern digital economy as we know it. American innovation is responsible for adding $2.3 trillion to the nation’s economy and supports 18.2 million American jobs. This has contributed to American economic and technological leadership becoming the envy of the world, particularly to governments that have crippled their own technology companies through crushing regulations and heavy-handed, authoritarian approaches to the internet. Unfortunately, this leadership has come under assault by allies and adversaries alike, who actively discriminate against U.S. companies and aggressively pursue a walled-off digital economy.

The European Union has advanced its so-called “digital sovereignty” agenda to the detriment of American companies. Laws like the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act are explicitly designed to treat American companies like a piggy bank to the tune of tens of billions of dollars per year. American innovation is paying to fill the coffers of unelected European bureaucrats.

The EU’s wrongheaded approach is a direct giveaway to China. A recent Center for Strategic and International Studies survey of five-hundred European firms found that nearly 20 percent believe cost increases from increased EU regulation on U.S. digital services providers would cause them to likely change to cheaper Chinese technology.

Instead of standing up for American companies, the Biden administration works hand in glove with progressive activists to cripple them. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai recently announced that she is dropping longstanding U.S. digital trade demands in talks with the World Trade Organization. Tai’s move, which blindsided the White House, was swiftly denounced by members of Congress on both sides of the aisle that rightfully see it as further proof that USTR is abandoning its mandate to advocate for U.S. companies and is instead ceding digital leadership to adversaries. This is part and parcel with FTC Commissioner Lina Khan sending staff to collude with European bureaucrats on DMA implementation.

Amid an era of intense technological competition, the Biden administration should start standing up for its leading industries abroad instead of actively undermining them. Anything less is a giveaway to Communist China, Russia, and other countries that are gleeful at the opportunity to thwart American innovation.

Sincerely, 

Grover Norquist
President, Americans for Tax Reform 

Richard Manning 
President, Americans for Limited Government 

Jim Martin 
Founder and Chairman, 60 Plus Association 

Saulius "Saul" Anuzis
President, 60 Plus Association

Brent Wm. Gardner 
Chief Government Affairs Officer, Americans for Prosperity 

Phil Kerpen 
President, American Commitment 

Dick Patten 
President, American Business Defense Council 

Bob Carlstrom 
President, Association of Mature American Citizens 

Tirzah Duren 
Director of Tech Policy, American Consumer Institute 

Daniel J. Mitchell 
President, Center for Freedom and Prosperity 

Tanner Avery 
Director, Center for New Frontiers, Frontier Institute 

George Landrith 
President, Frontiers of Freedom 

Ashley Baker 
Director of Public Policy, Committee for Justice 

Dr. Edward J. Longe 
Director, Center for Technology and Innovation, James Madison Institute 

Iain Murray 
Vice President of Strategy, Competitive Enterprise Institute 

Charles Sauer 
President, Market Institute 

Gerard Scimeca 
Chairman, Consumer Action for a Strong Economy 

Brandon Arnold 
Executive Vice President, National Taxpayers Union 

Tom Schatz 
President, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste 

Doug Kellogg 
Executive Director, Ohioans for Tax Reform 

James Erwin 
Executive Director, Digital Liberty 

Jonathan Small 
President, Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs 

Adam Brandon 
President, FreedomWorks 

Tom Hebert 
Executive Director, Open Competition Center 

Lorenzo Montanari 
Executive Director, Property Rights Alliance 

Jenny Beth Martin 
Honorary Chairman, Tea Party Patriots Action 

Karen Kerrigan
President, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council 

Dr. Steven J. Allen 
Vice Chairman, The Conservative Caucus 

David Williams 
President, Taxpayers Protection Alliance 

Casey Given 
Executive Director, Young Voices 

Click Here for a PDF Copy

Letter Type: 
Coalition Letters