[CTC] ICYMI: Jayapal, Goodlander Urge USTR to Revise USMCA Provisions that Hinder Regulation of Big Tech Monopolies

[Arthur Stamoulis]

https://jayapal.house.gov/2025/11/04/jayapal-goodlander-urge-ustr-to-revise-usmca-provisions-that-hinder-regulation-of-big-tech-monopolies/?link_id=6&can_id=741be2135c6be32677f6ca97b56e2788&source=email-building-momentum-for-fair-trade-policies&email_referrer=email_2975615&email_subject=building-momentum-in-the-fight-for-fair-trade-policies

Jayapal, Goodlander Urge USTR to Revise USMCA Provisions that Hinder
Regulation of Big Tech Monopolies

SEATTLE, W.A. — U.S. Representatives Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), a co-founder
of the Monopoly Busters Caucus, and Maggie Goodlander (NH-02), a member of
the Caucus, along with 15 of their colleagues are calling on U.S. Trade
Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer to revise the United
States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to strike provisions that hinder
Congressional oversight on monopolistic activity by Big Tech corporations.

“Today, just a handful of companies—Amazon, Google, Apple, and Meta—control
much of the internet infrastructure. They have achieved monopoly power by
crushing and acquiring rivals, creating network effects, and leveraging
vast amounts of user data to cement their dominant positions,” *wrote the
Members*. “Their power allows them to gatekeep access to markets and
information, harming workers, independent businesses, entrepreneurs,
ordinary investors, consumers, journalists, and entire communities.”

During the negotiation of USMCA, Big Tech companies were able to include
“digital trade” provisions as a means to avoid federal or Congressional
oversight of their anti-competitive activities. USMCA included a
requirement that its agreement must be reviewed every six years. In the
2026 review, the Members are specifically calling on three provisions to be
revamped or eliminated:

   - Anti-Monopoly: Congress has proposed laws that impose structural and
   behavioral safeguards on Big Tech platforms. The USMCA prohibits government
   action that treats foreign digital products differently from domestic
   digital products. This provision is worded so broadly that it effectively
   prohibits the types of laws that Congress has proposed because those laws
   necessarily affect dominant firms concentrated in certain countries.
   - Right-to-Repair and Artificial Intelligence: Congress and multiple
   states have proposed laws that give consumers, farmers, and small business
   owners the right to repair their own devices and equipment. They have also
   proposed laws that enable the auditing of artificial intelligence systems
   for accuracy, bias, and fairness. The USMCA prohibits access to source code
   and algorithms that are necessary to conduct these repairs and audits.
   - Data Privacy: Congress, agencies, and multiple states have proposed
   many policies that protect Americans’ privacy. The USMCA undercuts these
   policies by banning governments from limiting data movement between
   countries or regulating where data may be stored.

This letter is also signed by Becca Balint (VT-AL), Greg Casar (TX-35),
Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Christopher Deluzio (PA-17), Jerrold Nadler (NY-12),
Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Summer Lee (PA-12), James
P. McGovern (MA-02), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Mary Gay
Scanlon (PA-05), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), and Paul
Tonko (NY-20).

This letter is endorsed by the American Economic Liberties Project, Public
Citizen, and Tech Oversight Project.

The full text of the letter can be read HERE
<https://jayapal.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/USMCA-Jayapal-Letter-Final.pdf>
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