Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Digital Trade Promotion Act of 2025”.
Digital Trade Promotion Act of 2025
A BILL
To authorize the President to enter into digital trade agreements, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Findings; sense of Congress
Findings— Congress makes the following findings:
The Bureau of Economic Analysis found that the digital economy contributed roughly 10 percent of United States gross domestic product and supported approximately 8,900,000 United States jobs in 2022.
In 2023, United States exports of digital services surpassed $655,000,000,000, accounting for more than half of all United States services exports and generating a digital services trade surplus for the United States of roughly $266,800,000,000.
Digital trade bolsters the economy by enabling the sale of goods and the supply of services across borders.
Digital trade has become increasingly vital to United States workers and businesses of all sizes, including manufacturers, farmers, industrial facilities, service suppliers, and countless small and medium-sized enterprises that use digital technology to produce and export goods and services across the world.
Digital trade is crucial for the global competitiveness of the United States, as United States industry relies on free and secure cross-border data flows to deploy cutting-edge technology essential to innovation and productivity.
Digital innovation has provided new opportunities for economic development, entrepreneurship, and growth in developing countries around the world.
Countries have negotiated international rules governing digital trade in various bilateral and plurilateral agreements, but those rules remain fragmented.
The United States, through free trade agreements and trade negotiations, has been a leader in developing rules and standards governing digital trade and electronic commerce that have helped the United States and partners of the United States unlock the economic potential of digital innovation.
Certain countries, including the People’s Republic of China, are advancing discriminatory digital policies that undermine United States companies and workers by enabling censorship, surveillance, forced technology transfers, and data flow restrictions at the expense of human rights, the rule of law, privacy, and an open internet.
Sense of Congress— It is the sense of Congress that—
there is a need for agreements on digital trade, as Congress recognized by its support for a robust digital trade chapter in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which has been of critical importance to all sectors of the economy;
negotiating strong digital trade principles and commitments with countries across the globe enables the United States to unite like-minded countries around common standards and ensure that principles of democracy, rule of law, freedom of speech, human and worker rights, privacy, and a free and open internet are at the very core of digital governance; and
even as domestic statutes and regulations governing the digital economy continue to develop and evolve, the United States should cooperate with its allies and trading partners to advance global digital trade rules that reflect United States interests and values.
Sec. 3 Definitions
In this Act:
Appropriate committees of Congress— The term appropriate committees of Congress means—
the Committee on Finance of the Senate; and
the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives.
Country— The term country means any foreign country or territory, including any overseas dependent territory or possession of a foreign country.
Trade Representative— The term Trade Representative means the United States Trade Representative.
Digital trade agreement— The term digital trade agreement means an agreement with one or more trusted trade partners entered into under section 4.
Sec. 4 Authority to enter into digital trade agreements
In general— The President may, subject to the requirements under section 5, negotiate, enter into, and enforce a digital trade agreement with a country or countries.
Considerations— In determining whether to enter into negotiations for a digital trade agreement with a country pursuant to subsection (a), the President shall take into account whether the government of the country has—
expressed a desire to enter into such an agreement;
adhered to and implemented the commitments and obligations under any existing free trade agreements to which that country and the United States are parties;
implemented measures to reduce or eliminate unnecessary trade barriers and distorting practices affecting electronic commerce;
maintained the rule of law by enacting and enforcing laws and regulations in a clear, publicized, transparent, and nondiscriminatory manner; and
adopted and enforced laws that provide adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights reflecting a standard of protection similar to that found under United States law.
Content of digital trade agreements— A digital trade agreement shall apply to all sectors of the economy and provide for—
nondiscriminatory treatment of digital products and digital services;
prohibition of discriminatory taxes on digital services;
the free flow of data across borders and the prohibition of data localization requirements;
frameworks for the secure transfer and sharing of industrial data and other sensitive data that bolster data security, including through the promotion and protection of end-to-end encryption;
the protection of consumers engaged in electronic commerce, including the promotion of interoperability mechanisms, such as the Cross-Border Privacy Rules of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or successor frameworks, to facilitate international data transfers while ensuring the protection of the privacy of personal information;
prohibition of forced transfer or disclosure of source code, algorithms, cryptographic technology, trade secrets, and other proprietary technology as a condition of market access;
cooperation to advance interoperable, risk-based frameworks for the development, deployment, and cross-border trade in emerging digital technologies, including artificial intelligence and quantum computing;
cooperation in addressing cybersecurity threats and adherence to risk-based approaches to mitigating cybersecurity threats, including sharing of information and coordination on incident response and best practices based on consensus standards;
prohibition of customs duties on electronic transmissions, including on content transmitted electronically;
promotion of voluntary, international standards for digital technologies and services;
promotion of alignment on export controls, sanctions, and investment review mechanisms that impact digital trade;
greater transparency in domestic regulation of services;
promotion of risk-based approaches to government procurement of hardware and software to support secure digital infrastructure;
other provisions that, in the judgment of the Trade Representative, would advance the national interests of the United States with respect to digital trade; and
exceptions to the provisions described in paragraphs (1) through (14) to allow for the protection of legitimate public policy objectives and national security.
Sec. 5 Congressional oversight, notice, consultations, access to information, and review
Notice— Not later than 60 days before initiating negotiations with a country under section 4(a) for a digital trade agreement, the President shall submit to Congress written notice of the intention of the President to enter into the negotiations, which shall include the date on which negotiations will begin and the country with which the President seeks to enter into the agreement.
Consultation with members of Congress—
Consultation during negotiations and access to information— In the course of negotiations under section 4(a) for a digital trade agreement, the Trade Representative shall—
meet upon request with the appropriate committees of Congress regarding negotiating objectives, the status of negotiations in progress, and potential effects to the laws of the United States resulting from the agreement;
upon request by the appropriate committees of Congress, provide access to pertinent documents relating to the negotiations; and
consult closely and on a timely basis with, and keep fully apprised of the negotiations, the appropriate committees of Congress.
Consultation before entry into agreement— Before entering into a digital trade agreement under section 4, the Trade Representative shall consult with—
the appropriate committees of Congress; and
each other committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives, and each joint committee of Congress, that has jurisdiction over legislation involving a subject matter that would be affected by the agreement.
Consultation with Federal agencies— In the course of negotiations under section 4(a) for a digital trade agreement, the Trade Representative shall inform and consult with any Federal agency having expertise in the matters being negotiated.
Report to Congress— Not later than 60 days before the date on which the President enters into a digital trade agreement with a country under section 4, the President shall submit to Congress a report describing—
the nature and scope of the agreement;
the proposed duration of the agreement;
how and to what extent the agreement will achieve the applicable purposes, policies, priorities, and objectives of this Act;
whether sufficient evidence exists demonstrating that the country satisfies the conditions under section 4(b); and
the proposed implementation of the agreement, including the general effect of the agreement on existing laws.
Congressional right To review and disapprove—
In general— A digital trade agreement shall not take effect until—
the proposed agreement and the report required by subsection (d) with respect to that agreement have been submitted to Congress; and
the review period required by paragraph (2) following the date on which the proposed agreement has been submitted to Congress under subparagraph (A) has been exhausted, during which period a joint resolution is not enacted under paragraph (4).
Review—
Initial review— Unless extended under subparagraph (B) or (C), the review period under this paragraph with respect to a digital trade agreement is 30 days, during which time Congress shall review—
the proposed agreement; and
whether—
the President failed or refused to provide notice with respect to the agreement in accordance with subsection (a);
the President failed or refused to consult with respect to the agreement in accordance with subsections (b) and (c);
the President failed or refused to submit to Congress a report with respect to the agreement in accordance with subsection (d); or
the President failed or refused to demonstrate that the agreement would achieve the applicable purposes, policies, priorities, and objectives of this Act.
Further review— If, during the 30-day period under subparagraph (A) with respect to a digital trade agreement, one House of Congress adopts a resolution stating that the House of Congress wishes to further review the proposed agreement, the review period under this paragraph with respect to the proposed agreement shall be extended by a period of 60 days, during which time the appropriate committees of Congress shall engage the President with respect to the proposed agreement and the failures or refusals of the President specified under subparagraph (A).
Additional period— If, during the 60-day period under subparagraph (B) with respect to a digital trade agreement, one House of Congress adopts a resolution stating that the House of Congress wishes to further review the proposed agreement, the review period under this paragraph with respect to the proposed agreement shall be further extended by a period of 30 days.
Procedures for considering resolutions— A resolution under subparagraph (B) or (C) of paragraph (2)—
in the Senate—
may be introduced by any Member of the Senate;
shall be referred to the Committee on Finance; and
may not be amended;
in the House of Representatives—
may be introduced by any Member of the House;
shall be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means or the Committee on Rules; and
may not be amended by either Committee; and
the vote on passage of the resolution shall occur immediately following the conclusion of the debate on the digital trade agreement at issue and a single quorum call at the conclusion of the debate.
Disapproval— If, during the review period required under paragraph (2) with respect to a digital trade agreement, a joint resolution is enacted stating that Congress does not favor the agreement, the agreement shall not take effect.
Sec. 6 Monitoring and enforcement of continued compliance with digital trade agreements
Monitoring— The Trade Representative shall periodically monitor compliance by a country with the commitments and obligations of the country under a digital trade agreement.
Actions in response to failure To comply—
Determination and report of trade representative— If the Trade Representative determines that a country has failed to satisfactorily implement, maintain, and enforce the commitments and obligations of the country under a digital trade agreement, the Trade Representative shall submit to the President a report setting forth—
the determination and the findings that support the determination; and
based on such findings, the recommendations of the Trade Representative for action or inaction under this subsection.
Determination of President— Not later than 30 days after receiving a report under paragraph (1) with respect to a country, the President shall—
determine whether the President concurs with the determination of the Trade Representative set forth in the report; and
if the President concurs, determine whether—
to suspend, withdraw, or prevent the application of the digital trade agreement with the country;
to enter into a binding agreement with the country that commits the country—
to eliminate any burden or restriction on the United States resulting from the failure of the country to comply with the commitments and obligations of the country under a digital trade agreement; and
to provide the United States with such compensatory trade benefits as are negotiated between the Trade Representative and the country; or
to take such other actions as the Trade Representative considers necessary to encourage the country to adhere to the commitments and obligations of the country under a digital trade agreement.
Timeline for action— If the President determines under paragraph (2)(B) to take action, the President shall implement that action by not later than the date that is 15 days after the day on which the President determines to take action under that paragraph.