ITC starts 2 digital trade investigations

   The U.S. International Trade Commission has initiated the first of two investigations into the role of digital trade in the U.S. and global economies.
   The investigations were requested by the Senate Finance Committee in a Dec. 14 letter.
   The first report, Digital Trade in the U.S. and Global Economies, Part I, will:

• Describe U.S. digital trade in the context of the broader economy. 
• Examine cross-border digital trade and its relationship to other cross-border transactions. 
• Describe notable barriers and impediments to digital trade. 
• Outline potential approaches for assessing the linkages and contributions of digital trade to the U.S. economy, noting any challenges associated with data gaps and limitations. 

   The ITC expects to deliver the first report to the committee by July 14.
   The second report will build on the first to:

• Estimate the value of U.S. digital trade and the potential growth of this trade. 
• Examine the broader linkages and contributions of digital trade to the U.S. economy. 
• Present case studies that examine the importance of digital trade to selected U.S. industries that use or produce such goods and services. 
• Examine the effect of notable barriers to digital trade on selected industries and the broader U.S. economy. 

   The second report will be delivered to the committee by July 2014.
   For the purposes of the report, “digital trade” encompasses commerce in products and services delivered over digital networks, the ITC said. Examples include software, digital media files, and services such as data processing and hosting. The report will also examine how other industries, such as financial services and retailing, make use of digital products and services for production and trade.
   The ITC will hold a public hearing related these investigations on March 7. For more details, access the ITC Website.