Fallout from ex-National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden’s...

Fallout from ex-National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden’s disclosures on U.S. surveillance is among the top trade-related questions that loom over this year, said Myron Brilliant, head of international affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Snowden’s leaks that allegedly reveal extensive NSA communications surveillance globally are encouraging governments to limit the free movement of digital information across international borders with the potential to hamper global commerce, said Brilliant in a blog post Monday (http://uscham.com/1ksdBg4). “It’s a mistake to conflate alleged espionage by governments with how companies in different sectors rely on cross-border data flows,” said Brilliant. “Companies of every size, sector, and country have come to rely on the ability to move data across borders to create valuable products and services, enhance productivity, combat fraud, protect consumers, innovate, and create jobs. In fact, digital trade is just one more way for American businesses to reach the 95 percent of the world’s consumers located outside of U.S. borders."