[governance] US gets frank on its vision for the Internet

[parminder]

http://www.state.gov/e/eb/rls/rm/2015/237436.htm

How US sees trade rules being basically the rules for the Internet, 
because the Internet is the 'new shipping lanes' for global trade, and 
so on.

And of course, the rival model is China's and how, and see the blunt 
shift here, it is bad for human rights and the open Internet.

Open trade and open Internet are basically one - and so you choose the 
side you want to be on (So much for the Seattle protesters, and the 
World Social Forum and 'Occupy' kinds, who stand against unbridled 
'open' trade!)

Also, since the US is on the right side, it is clear that it is the US 
who will make the international trade rules, and thus, by derivation, 
the Internet rules.

And when they call the Internet as the new shipping lanes, to many of us 
the connection to colonialism comes through strongly, and somewhat 
chillingly. But then the US now has the global 1 percent across the 
world supporting new forms of hegemonies, of which the WEF is a good 
symbol.

The US establishment's case is rather clear and precise. The rest of the 
world, or people in general (including of the US), need to state theirs.

parminder
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Remarks
Ambassador Daniel A. Sepulveda
Deputy Assistant Secretary and U.S. Coordinator for International 
Communications and Information Policy, Bureau of Economic and Business 
Affairs
U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Association of American Chambers of 
Commerce in Latin America
Los Angeles, CA
February 11, 2015


  Trade Promotion and the Fight to Preserve the Open Internet


  * original <http://www.state.gov/e/eb/rls/rm/2015/237436.htm>

Three billion people are connected to the Internet today. And trillions 
of devices are set to join them in the Internet of Things. Together, the 
connectivity of people and machines is enabling economic and social 
development around the world on a revolutionary scale.

But it will take open markets, the cooperation of leaders around the 
world, the participation of a vibrant and diverse range of stakeholders, 
and strong trade agreements, with language preserving the free flow of 
information, to protect the Internet’s potential as the world’s engine 
for future growth, both at home and abroad.

As the number of Internet users worldwide has ballooned from 2 to 3 
billion, the increase in Internet use creates significant economic 
potential. The Obama Administration is working to unlock the promise of 
e-commerce, keep the Internet free and open, promote competitive access 
for telecommunications suppliers, and set digital trade 
rules-of-the-road by negotiating new trade agreements. Trade Promotion 
Authority legislation and the pending trade agreements we expect 
Congress to consider over the coming months and years will provide that 
kind of protection. These agreements aim to ensure that the free flow of 
information and data are the default setting for nations. This will 
preserve the architecture that has empowered the Internet and global 
communications to fuel economic growth at home and abroad. It is in our 
interest, across parties and ideology, to ensure we move forward and 
approve TPA and the pending agreements for many reasons, but promoting 
the preservation and growth of global communications and the open 
Internet is one of the strongest.

Senator Ron Wyden, the ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, 
has made the argument well, stating, "America’s trade negotiating 
objectives must reflect the fact that the Internet represents /the 
shipping lane/ for 21st Century goods and services… Trade in digital 
goods and services is growing and driving economic growth and job 
creation all around the country. U.S digital exports are beating imports 
by large margins, but outdated trade rules threaten this growth by 
providing opportunities for protectionist policies overseas. The U.S. 
has the opportunity to establish new trade rules that preserve the 
Internet as a platform to share ideas and for expanding commerce..."

Senator Wyden is absolutely correct. Our pending agreements with nations 
in the Pacific community will establish rules for the preservation of 
those virtual shipping lanes as enablers of the transport of services 
and ideas, allowing startups and the voices of everyday people to 
challenge incumbent power in markets and ideas.

If we are successful, the partnership of nations across the 
Trans-Pacific Partnership and Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment 
Partnership regions coming behind agreements to preserve the free flow 
of information will serve as a powerful counterweight to authoritarian 
governments around the globe that have demonstrated a clear willingness 
to interfere with open markets and an open Internet. And make no mistake 
about it, if we do not seize every opportunity at our disposal to win 
commitments to an open, global Internet, we risk letting others set the 
rules of the road.

Authoritarian regimes view the Internet’s openness as a threatening and 
destabilizing influence. The Russian government, just last month, 
pressured social media companies to block access to pages used to 
organize peaceful political protests. In China, authorities have blocked 
Gmail and Google’s search engine. In addition to ongoing and systematic 
efforts to control content and punish Chinese citizens who run afoul of 
political sensitivities, such measures are an effort to further diminish 
the Chinese people’s access to information, while effectively favoring 
Chinese Internet companies by blocking other providers from accessing 
its market. And we know they are urging others to take similar action. 
These trade barriers harm commerce and slow economic growth, and they 
produce socially oppressive policies that inhibit freedom.

The rules of the road for commerce, and Internet-enabled trade and 
e-commerce, are up for grabs in Asia. We’re working harder than ever to 
bring home trade agreements that will unlock opportunities by 
eliminating barriers to U.S. exports, trade, and investment while 
raising labor, environment, and other important standards across the 
board. Right now, China and others are negotiating their own trade 
agreements and seeking to influence the rules of commerce in the region 
and beyond. These trade agreements fail to meet the high standards that 
we strive for in our free trade agreements, including protection for 
workers’ rights and the environment. And they don’t protect intellectual 
property rights or maintain a free and open Internet. This will put our 
workers and our businesses at a disadvantage.

We know that both old and new American businesses, small and large 
alike, are dependent on the global Internet as the enabler of access to 
previously unreachable consumers. In the U.S. alone, American Internet 
companies and their global community of users contribute over $141 
billion in annual revenue to the overall U.S. GDP, simultaneously 
employing 6.6 million people. And the Internet is not simply about the 
World Wide Web, it is the communications platform for managing global 
supply chains, distributing services, and acquiring the market 
information necessary to succeed anywhere.

Many countries no longer primarily produce products. Rather, businesses 
produce product components and provide services, many of which are 
delivered digitally. In order to remain competitive globally and promote 
the capacity of businesses to innovate, the United States and our 
partners in the Western Hemisphere must build the Americas into a 
shared, digitally connected, integrated platform for global success. By 
working with our trade partners in Latin America and Asia to conclude 
the Trans-Pacific Partnership we are advancing this vision and making it 
a reality. We will set the standards with twenty-first century trade 
agreements.

We know that not everyone is convinced of the merits of open markets. 
And to win their hearts and minds, we have to demonstrate and 
communicate how these two values – open markets and the open Internet - 
are interconnected. And we have to show that Trade Promotion Authority 
and our agreements embrace the values that underpin the Internet today.

As Ambassador Froman has said, “Trade, done right, is part of the 
solution, not part of the problem.” And, because it is true, our 
progressive friends should recognize that the fight for open markets is 
the position most consistent with our progressive tradition and values.

It was Woodrow Wilson who said, “The program of the world's peace, 
therefore, is our program; and that program, the only possible program, 
as we see it, is this” and he listed his fourteen points. Among them was 
number three: “The removal, so far as possible, of all economic barriers 
and the establishment of an equality of trade conditions among all the 
nations consenting to the peace and associating themselves for its 
maintenance.”

It was Franklin Roosevelt who asked the New Deal Congress for the first 
grant of trade negotiating authority.

In his remarks at the signing of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, it was 
JFK who said, “Increased economic activity resulting from increased 
trade will provide more job opportunities for our workers. Our industry, 
our agriculture, our mining will benefit from increased export 
opportunities as other nations agree to lower their tariffs. Increased 
exports and imports will benefit our ports, steamship lines, and 
airlines as they handle an increased amount of trade. Lowering of our 
tariffs will provide an increased flow of goods for our American 
consumers. Our industries will be stimulated by increased export 
opportunities and by freer competition with the industries of other 
nations for an even greater effort to develop an efficient, economic, 
and productive system. The results can bring a dynamic new era of growth.”

And it is consistent with the sentiments of these giants in our 
tradition, our progressive tradition, that President Obama most recently 
stated, “Twenty-first century businesses, including small businesses, 
need to sell more American products overseas. Today, our businesses 
export more than ever, and exporters tend to pay their workers higher 
wages. But as we speak, China wants to write the rules for the world’s 
fastest-growing region. That would put our workers and our businesses at 
a disadvantage. Why would we let that happen? We should write those 
rules. We should level the playing field. That’s why I’m asking both 
parties to give me trade promotion authority to protect American 
workers, with strong new trade deals from Asia to Europe that aren’t 
just free, but are also fair. It’s the right thing to do.”

Friends, we have both a political and economic interest in promoting 
open markets and an open Internet. Preservation of these ideals is and 
should remain a bipartisan, and broadly held goal. It is critical to our 
future and contained within the language we are asking Congress to approve.

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