U.S. Pushes Global Digital Trade Rules on Data Flows and Source Code Protection

According to the Wall Street Journal, on July 22, the U.S. Trump administration is advancing a strategy to establish new global trade rules centered on cross-border data flows, cloud computing, software, and artificial intelligence, through bilateral and multilateral agreements with key trading partners.

Currently, 146 digital trade barriers exist across 43 jurisdictions globally, including digital services taxes, data localization requirements, restrictions on cross-border data transfers, and mandatory source code disclosures. Recent U.S. agreements with Southeast Asian nations include provisions banning forced technology transfer, protecting cross-border data flows, prohibiting government demands for source code, and maintaining tariff-free digital transmissions.