BritishAmerican Business (BAB) Launches Digital Trade Whitepaper – Moving the Bar

Contact: Dominic Parker, Communications Manager dparker@babinc.org | 020 7290 9882 | +44 7500 115 352

London/New York – Today, BritishAmerican Business (BAB) published a white paper laying out several key recommendations from the transatlantic business community on the future of the US-UK digital trade relationship.

The growth and scope of the global digital economy, in which both US and UK are leading players, is enormous and ever-growing. The digital transformation has helped to reduce costs, facilitated the coordination of global value chains, spread innovation, and connected businesses and consumers.

BritishAmerican Business CEO Duncan Edwards commented: “Both the US and UK governments have expressed a strong interest in pursuing trade negotiations immediately upon the UK’s departure from the European Union. This paper looks to inform those discussions by providing specific recommendations to help the two countries take the global lead on digital trade and grow the transatlantic digital economy.

It’s crucial that the UK also maintains a level of regulatory alignment with the current EU data privacy regime which does not endanger its future relationship with its largest trading partner and its access to the European Single Market.”

This paper recommends:

• Acknowledging and enshrining the magnitude & volume of global digital trade by building a trade agreement predicated on the growing digitalization of economy and society.
• Building on provisions in top-of-the-line agreements for digital trade, such as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
• Minimizing barriers to digital trade, specifically by:
  • Avoiding customs duties on electronic transmissions and tariffs on digital products
  • Facilitating cross-border data transfers
  • Avoiding data localization measures
  • Removing market access barriers for telecommunications services
  • Strengthening IP protection, including for source code and algorithms
• Promoting a risk-based approach to cybersecurity, thus taking the lead on global cybersecurity standards and practices.
• Improving the volume and quality of open government data.
• Committing to programs for the general public which demystify data and the ways in which it is used.

For the full list of recommendations, the paper is available to download online.

The UK and the US are well positioned to drive the conversation on digital trade forward and BAB is ready to assist our partners on both sides of the Atlantic as they work towards a future-looking trade relationship.