[CTC] Big Tech Presses for Expanded Giveaways in Upcoming USMCA Review

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Social media links: *X
<https://x.com/PCGTW/status/2001703951398322483>* /* BSKY
<https://bsky.app/profile/pcgtw.bsky.social/post/3maboqe5htc2y>* /* Threads
<https://www.threads.com/@pcglobaltradewatch/post/DSabjOQiVxb>*



Big Tech Presses for Expanded Giveaways in Upcoming USMCA Review
<https://www.citizen.org/news/big-tech-presses-for-expanded-giveaways-in-upcoming-usmca-review/>

For Immediate Release: December 18, 2025
Contact: Emily Leach, eleach at citizen.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. —  As the mandatory review of the United
States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) approaches, new analysis
<https://www.citizen.org/article/big-tech-pushes-for-more-giveaways-in-usmca-review/>
of
public comments by lobbyists for the tech industry shows that Big Tech is
aggressively pushing for even more deregulatory giveaways, despite the
agreement already tilting heavily in their favor.

This analysis comes on the heels of a U.S. Trade Representative statement
<https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/files/Press/Releases/2025/Ambassador%20Greer%20Reporting%20to%20Congress%20on%20the%20Operation%20of%20the%20USMCA.pdf>
released
late yesterday which notes the ongoing debate over so-called “digital
trade” rules. The statement does not clarify the administration’s plan for
the USMCA negotiation, but it does continue to take aim at a number of
digital policies on Big Tech’s hit list.

“It’s not surprising that Big Tech CEOs think they can get Trump to tilt
his signature trade agreement even more in their favor,” said *Global Trade
Watch director Melinda St. Louis.* “Trump’s trade agenda has put the tech
broligarchs ahead of working people at every turn, and now they want his
help in further undermining the ability of governments around the world to
put any restraints on their runaway power.”

The submissions of tech industry lobby groups outline key demands,
including:

   - *Preserving the USMCA’s damaging Digital Trade chapter in full*,
   despite evidence that its provisions undermine competition, consumer
   protection, privacy, and digital rights, and may conflict with existing and
   proposed U.S. state laws regulating sensitive data exports.
   - *Hindering regulation of emerging technologies*, including
   transparency and accountability norms for artificial intelligence systems,
   despite ongoing debates and the lack of regulatory consensus.
   - *Explicitly banning digital services taxes* and other revenue-sharing
   mechanisms, foreclosing efforts to ensure Big Tech companies pay their fair
   share of taxes where they operate.
   - *Further restricting use of anti-monopoly policies* under the guise of
   “non-discrimination” provisions that block stricter rules for dominant
   platforms, making it harder to address anti-competitive practices and
   systemic risk in digital markets.

This new analysis
<https://www.citizen.org/article/big-tech-pushes-for-more-giveaways-in-usmca-review/>
of
the additional powers Big Tech seeks in the USMCA review follows an earlier
Public Citizen analysis of the egregious terms the industry already secured
when Trump first negotiated the agreement: Making NAFTA Worse: Giveaways
for Big Tech in the USMCA
<https://www.citizen.org/article/making-nafta-worse-giveaways-for-big-tech/>
.



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