Tech industry reaction was overwhelmingly positive Wednesday to the news that the U.S. and more than 50 of its World Trade Organization partners completed work on a final Information Technology Agreement (ITA) expansion proposal. A statement from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said the pact means more than $180 billion in yearly U.S. tech exports will no longer face tariffs in key markets around the world. The original ITA was reached in 1996, prompting many to say the new agreement was long overdue.
The FCC held some dozen events for news media that weren't on the record in the first half of this year, more than any other communications-related federal body. Such commission media events, often "on background" where officials couldn't be identified, numbered twice as many as were fully on the record. Partisan politics (see 1510280062 and 1512150011) and a divided FCC (see 1512150030) appear to be making commission officials more cautious in what they say when their names are attached, said experts who reviewed a Communications Daily database. They said such politics partly reflect a politically divided Washington. That's apparent to a lesser degree at NTIA and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement reflects the digital era in which we live, said Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Robert Holleyman Friday during the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Global IP Summit on IP provisions in the recently released TPP text. He said the range of provisions in the agreement designed to enhance digital trade underlines that there are "truly 21st Century issues" at hand. Holleyman also said TPP promotes "speedy examination of patents" and requires participating countries to adopt a U.S.-style best practices, allowing a 12-month grace period during which time public disclosures of an invention will not be used to invalidate them.
The Obama administration released the full text of the telecom chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, spurring reactions Thursday from many stakeholders. Some such as AT&T have strongly backed the trade deal during negotiations. The 22 pages of chapter text were posted on the U.S. Trade Representative website Thursday, alongside a summary document and some other chapters. One such chapter deals with e-commerce. The administration was compelled to release the document 90 days ahead of President Barack Obama’s signature as part of the Trade Promotion Authority arrangement, before congressional consideration.
The Information Technology Industry Council told the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Wednesday that increasing data localization practices by foreign governments threaten U.S. and global economic growth. In ITI's comments on the National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE), the group said members have "experienced a significant increase" in the use of localization measures across the globe. Data localization is the practice of governments employing measures to favor local businesses and enterprises primarily in the information and communications technology space, which ITI said can be done "under the guise of promoting local industries and protecting privacy." These practices have "forced [ITI member companies and others] to make costly adjustments to their operations on the ground, regionally or globally, in order to comply with these measures," ITI said. It identified localization requirements in China, Indonesia, Nigeria, Russia, Turkey and Vietnam, and warned it's possible more governments will consider or put in place similar requirements by the time the USTR's NTE is published. "ITI is greatly concerned about the impact of such digital protectionism on international trade and investment, innovation, and the ability of people and businesses all over the world to benefit from free and open flows of information and data through the Internet and Internet-based technologies," it said. ITI recently released a blog post citing Indonesia's need to address localization practices in order for it to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (see 1510280075). The public comment submission period for the USTR report ended Wednesday, but comments were only being made available by those who filed them, not the government. “As Internet services become a greater part of the global economy,” it will become “more important to monitor digital trade barriers,” the Computer & Communications Industry Association said in comments. CCIA detailed how recent moves "to restrict online information for alleged copyright reasons violates current trade agreements"; how Internet censorship has affected countries in Asia, the Middle East and Russia; and problems companies face following the European Court of Justice’s ruling earlier this month that declared the U.S.-EU safe harbor agreement invalid, in its comments. “As the economy evolves, the NTE will need to increasingly investigate and respond to barriers to digital trade if the Internet and Internet-enabled services are to continue to be export growth leaders,” said CCIA CEO Ed Black in a news release.
Some industry and policy groups urged the Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC) to limit the International Trade Commission's (ITC) attempt to regulate information transmitted over the Internet, said comments on the development of IPEC's Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property. IPEC requested public comments on its Joint Strategic Plan during a period that ended Friday, and received 65 submissions.
Visa hires Demetrios Marantis, ex-Square and former acting U.S. trade representative, as senior vice president-global government relations ... JSI hires Dave Lewis, ex-consultant to ILECs, as vice president-product innovation ... eBay changes to Americas Government Relations team include promoting Senior Director David London to head of the team, and hiring Laura Dooley as senior manager, North American government relations ... Mozilla hires Ari Jaaksi, ex-Intel, as senior vice president-connected devices, effective next month ... Verve Mobile hires Kevin Arrix, ex-SFX Entertainment, as chief revenue officer ... Comcast moves Janet Uthman to vice president-inclusion and multicultural marketing, Northeast division.
The U.S. and 11 other Pacific Rim nations said they reached a final deal on the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, which would affect a range of e-commerce, IP and other areas of trade law. The deal will now go through a technical review before going to the U.S. Congress and other national legislatures for consideration. Although a range of industry stakeholders expressed optimism Monday about TPP, many reserved judgment until they're able to review the final text of the agreement. Members of Congress also raised skepticism Monday about TPP’s final contours. It’s unclear the extent to which TPP’s IP provisions will factor into Congress’ consideration of the deal, stakeholders told us.
The FTC topped the list of federal agencies ranked by employee engagement, with the FCC, Justice Department and Transportation Department coming in above average and the Broadcasting Board of Governors trailing, according to the 2015 Federal Employment Viewpoint Survey's Employee Engagement Index released this week. For 2015, the FTC had a score of 78, tied with NASA and the Office of Management and Budget. The Justice Department was at 68, while the FCC and Transportation Department were at 66. The Broadcasting Board of Governors had a 58 score. Among large agencies, the average score overall was 64. Among small agencies, where the average score was 67, the U.S. International Trade Commission and Office of the U.S. Trade Representative were above average with scores of 73 and 69, respectively, according to survey figures. "Employees across the Federal Government are more engaged in their workplaces and more satisfied with their jobs than they were a year ago. While there is still plenty of room for improvement, there are signs that the Administration’s focus on employee engagement is beginning to pay dividends for the workforce, and ultimately for our customers, the American people," Office of Personnel Management Acting Director Beth Cobert said in a blog Monday, pointing to the overall government score going up one point, to 64, from 2014. The index was created from 421,748 survey responses from 82 agencies.
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman chose USTR General Counsel Timothy Reif as the agency’s first chief transparency officer. In a statement, USTR noted that the new position comes at a “critical time in trade policy” as the U.S. angles to complete the Trans-Pacific Partnership and make progress in other trade negotiations. The agency won't appoint new general counsel, said a USTR spokesman. Lawmakers forced the agency to create the new position through a provision in the 2015 version of Trade Promotion Authority, which President Barack Obama signed into law in late June. That provision directs the chief transparency officer to “consult with Congress on transparency policy, coordinate transparency in trade negotiations, engage and assist the public, and advise the United State Trade Representative on transparency policy.” Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., an advocate for more transparency in trade, also applauded the new position.