The Trump administration is pursuing a longer-term trade strategy beyond tariffs, according to The Wall Street Journal, by seeking agreements with major trading partners that would help define a new set of global rules for data flows, cloud computing, software, and artificial intelligence. The report says 43 jurisdictions worldwide currently maintain 146 digital trade barriers, including digital services taxes, data localization mandates, restrictions on cross-border data transfers, and requirements for companies to hand over source code, technology, or commercial data. Washington argues that such measures weaken the competitiveness of U.S. technology firms and the broader digital economy. Recent agreements with Indonesia, Cambodia, and Malaysia include provisions that bar forced technology transfer, protect the free flow of cross-border data, prohibit governments from demanding source code submissions, and preserve duty-free treatment for electronic transmissions. The Journal said these terms are being viewed as an early framework for digital trade rules in the AI era, as competition over data governance, AI regulation, and digital trade standards becomes a more prominent part of global economic rivalry.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the Trump administration is pursuing a longer-term strategy beyond tariffs by signing agreements with major trading partners to build a new global trade framework around cross-border data flows, cloud computing, software, and artificial intelligence.
The report said 43 jurisdictions worldwide currently enforce 146 digital trade barriers. These include digital services taxes, data localization requirements, limits on cross-border data flows, and measures that require companies to hand over source code, technology, and commercial data. The U.S. position, as cited by the report, is that such rules are eroding the competitiveness of American technology companies and the country’s digital economy.
The Journal also said recent agreements reached by the U.S. with Indonesia, Cambodia, and Malaysia include provisions banning forced technology transfer, protecting the free flow of cross-border data, prohibiting governments from requiring companies to submit source code, and keeping electronic transmissions exempt from tariffs. Those terms are being seen as an early framework for digital trade rules in the AI era.
The report added that competition over international rules for data governance, AI regulation, and digital trade standards is expected to become an important front in broader global economic competition.
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