Beware China's ‘Digital Authoritarianism’: USTR Tai

The U.S. and its trade allies increasingly worry about the “digital authoritarianism” by China and other “undemocratic” countries, including “intrusive surveillance and censorship,” U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in Q&A at a Georgetown Law Center virtual conference Wednesday. Their practices can “influence the ability of Americans to enjoy their civil liberties right here at home,” she said. “We will have to ask ourselves hard questions,” including whether digital commerce can “facilitate imports that are made with forced labor,” or if it can “exacerbate problems in illegal trade,” she said. The Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry didn’t comment. Answering tough questions about digital commerce “is part of making sure that our domestic and foreign policies are aligned,” said Tai. "A lot of our thinking around traditional trade policies is still extremely relevant when applying the digital trade context.” Tai's prepared remarks are here. Also Wednesday, the Bureau of Industry and Security said it's adding companies including NSO to a list restricting exports due to surveillance concerns (see 2111030042).