Maintaining American Innovation and Technology Leadership
House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade
2026-01-13
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Source: Congress.gov
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Subcommittee will come to order. Good afternoon. I thank the subcommittee members for being here and certainly thank you to our witnesses here today as well. This hearing is important, an important opportunity to discuss intellectual property and digital trade, two subjects that are key to our strength and global leadership in very critical sectors. U.S. innovation is one of our nation's greatest strengths. It is a core driver of America's economic engine and key to U.S. national security. IP-intensive industries account for 41 percent of U.S. GDP and 63 million U.S. jobs, including 8.9 million in the U.S. tech sector. This success is in large part thanks to robust and fair domestic laws that don't pick winners and losers, but rather incentivize creativity and development. When we create an environment conducive to innovation, all sectors succeed. New agriculture crop varieties and inputs meet the need for affordable and nutrient-dense staples around the world. Pharmaceutical development delivers lifesaving advancements. Small businesses have access to a suite of digital services to market their products at home and abroad. When trading partners unnecessarily target American innovation and technology, the trickle-down effect is similarly felt throughout the economy. Many of our trading partners lack Similar innovation-friendly rules and often imposed measures aimed at undermining American companies in order to advantage their own firms. The absence of adequate and effective protection for American intellectual property rights holders in export markets also significantly hinders the ability of U.S. innovators to export and operate overseas, harming the economic interests of the United States. Similarly, discriminatory digital trade and tax measures seek to erode America's competitive Despite frequent warnings from members on both sides of the aisle, the Biden administration continually enabled this bad behavior. Their misguided policies opened the door to mistreatment from trading partners.
The Biden administration's support for policies like the TRIPS waiver for COVID-19 vaccines disincentivized investment in key strategic pharmaceutical capabilities in the United States. and reevaluation of the long-standing U.S. approach to digital trade policy undermined U.S. leadership and led to the proliferation of numerous troublesome policies, including digital services taxes, or TSTs. I'm glad the Trump administration is working to right the ship. This past year, the administration has successfully obtained significant commitments from trading partners related to intellectual property and digital trade, paving the way for continued U.S. leadership in emerging industries. However, there is more work to do. Numerous countries continue to maintain or introduce harmful DSTs that discriminate against U.S. companies, along with a myriad of other regulations that impose a significant burden on American digital service companies. We cannot accept foreign discrimination under the guise of regulation. As it relates to intellectual property, I welcome the commitments countries have made that strengthen IP protection for U.S. rights holders. Such commitments must also be paired with strong enforcement to ensure that American companies are treated fairly and rights are protected. We must continue to build upon these successes of the Trump administration and make sure that foreign governments know that unfair and discriminatory practices that harm U.S. innovators will not be tolerated in the United States any longer.
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Mr. Dan Mauer
I can't begin this hearing without addressing the elephant in the room, which is why are Republicans hosting this hearing today? Is Congress's top focus really digital trade right now? Americans are facing higher prices on everything from groceries to housing due to President Trump's tariffs, and American manufacturing jobs are declining under his watch. Since Trump took office, we have lost a staggering 68,000 American manufacturing jobs. Instead of taking action to address the cost of living crisis and the gutting of American manufacturing jobs, President Trump has been busy illegally invading and trying to run Venezuela.
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Mr. Dan Mauer
With all of that going on, Republicans have us talking about digital trade policy. Putting aside the ill timing of this hearing, yes, Democrats share some of the same concerns that Chairman Smith raised with respect to digital trade. We have long supported strong copyright and intellectual property protections in our trade agreements, which have fueled American innovation. We've also fought to level the playing field for American companies competing abroad, including by opposing digital services taxes and other discriminatory measures. Rep Smucker and I recently led a bipartisan effort with 27 other Ways and Means Committee members, raising serious concerns with Canada's Online Streaming Act. I look forward to hearing from Ms. Brennan with the Motion Pictures Association about the harmful impact measures like these have on American workers and companies. Digital must be a part of our engagement with our trading partners, and our trade policies should help American companies innovate. At the same time, Congress must have a say in regulating the digital economy. We need to consider how foreign adversaries like Russia and China manipulate and weaponize American data to harm our democracy.
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