On June 21, CompTIA Advocacy hosted a well-attended event on Capitol Hill to discuss technology services and the policies that shape tech services globally. The event was supported by the Coalition of Service Industries and Women in International Trade.
Elizabeth Hyman, CompTIA’s Executive Vice President for Public Advocacy, opened the event and set the scene for the discussion with a presentation of some of the highlights of CompTIA’s recently published Tech Trade Snapshot 2018. The snapshot shows the importance of information technology, with tech being one of the largest sectors for exports in the U.S. economy and U.S. exports of related products and services having increased 3.1 percent over the previous year. The panel, which included experts from government and the private sector, discussed the importance of this sector and what it means for the U.S. economy and jobs.
Christine Bliss, President of the Coalition of Services Industries, moderated the panel and provided further background on the topic from a broad services industry perspective, noting that the United States has a $159 billion trade surplus in potentially ICT-enabled services. CSI also has published its annual factsheets on U.S. services exports and jobs at the national, state, and congressional district level. These factsheets show the widespread impact and benefits which services have throughout every state and district, including export figures to Canada, Mexico, China, and Korea. The panelists discussing these important topics included Carolyn Bartholomew, Vice chairman of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, Krysten Jenci, Director in the Office of Digital Services Industries at the Department of Commerce, and Jennifer Sanford, Director of International Trade and Energy/Environment Policy at Cisco Systems.
A significant portion of the discussion focused on China and the obstacles U.S. businesses face in that market. China utilizes various tools in their industrial policy, including localization, state funded R&D, government procurement regulations, technology standards, foreign direct investment (FDI) restrictions, and acquisition of foreign technology. China’s “Made in China 2025” initiative provides a blue print of where the country plans to grow in the next few years. The electronic commerce and financial services sectors are already growing exponentially, in fact the Chinese e-commerce sector is the largest in the world. While the largest Chinese companies in this space receive significant government support, foreign participants are limited in their ability to participate in the market, though the market has slowly been opening up for participants in recent years.
In addition to China, important markets in this space are Europe as well as Latin America. Particularly Europe has been very active in the digital economy space, with initiatives like the Privacy Shield Framework and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). From a private sector perspective, the most important factor in any market is structure and predictability. For example, trade agreements and the commitments they provide can be invaluable and often the only path to the resolution of obstacles to market access. This includes provisions on cross-border data flows, cybersecurity, source code requirements, e-commerce in services, national treatment, customs clarifications, and also on new services.
Our thanks to the Coalition of Services Industries for partnering on this important program, representing the broad scope of U.S. services industries. Special thanks to Christine Bliss, CSI President, and Shantell Isaac, Vice President of CSI.
Our thanks also to Women in International Trade, in particular Eva Hampl, WIIT’s Legislative initiative Co-Chair. CompTIA is the sponsor of WIIT’s Capitol Hill Trade Education program and jointly hosted a Trade Talk on Tech event last November.
Stefanie Holland is the Director, International Government & Regulatory Affairs at CompTIA Advocacy
