There are many ways the United States can rejoin trading partners in shaping digital trade in the Asia-Pacific. But in choosing its path, the administration should not allow misguided opposition deter it from insisting on binding rules for data flows and other key digital economy issues.
Trade plays key roles in fostering innovation, both as a conduit for the diffusion of global technology and knowhow that facilitates innovation in developing nations and by giving innovative companies access to large global markets through which they can recoup their upfront investments in R&D and generate revenues to finance future generations of innovation. GTIPA-member reports here examine trade-innovation linkages.
