Warren Calls on Secretary Raimondo to Clarify Comments on EU Regulation of Tech Giants That Appeared to Undermine Biden Admin’s Regulatory and Trade Policies
Warren Hits Raimondo’s “clear effort to defend these monopolists from scrutiny.”
Warren: “It makes little sense for you to go before the U.S. Chamber of Commerce… and promise to defend U.S. Big Tech firms from competition policies designed to achieve the same goals as the Biden Administration’s policies”
Washington, D.C. - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sent a letter to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo expressing concern about remarks the Secretary made in a video statement to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce about potential regulation of large tech companies by European Union (EU) authorities. In the letter, the Senator notes that the Secretary’s comments appear to undermine the Biden Administration’s trade and regulatory proposals for big tech and asks a series of questions about her remarks.
“Your comments require clarification and explanation. This Administration has promised to engage our allies to put worker-centered trade policies in place, and to promote competitive markets and regulate Big Tech to protect consumers and workers. It makes little sense for you to go before the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which opposes all these Administration efforts, and promise to defend U.S. Big Tech firms from competition policies designed to achieve the same goals as the Biden Administration’s policies merely because they emerge from our allies,” said Senator Warren.
Last week, while at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Transatlantic Business Works Summit, Secretary Raimondo spoke in reference to the EU’s Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act, legislative proposals under consideration by the European Commission to protect internet users and “establish a level playing field to foster innovation, growth, and competitiveness.” The policy proposals mirror President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy to “enforce the antitrust laws to meet the challenges posed by new industries and technologies, including the rise of the dominant Internet platforms.” However, Secretary Raimondo’s comments were inconsistent with President Biden’s trade and regulatory proposals and instead defended monopolists from scrutiny.
“Too often, our federal government has carried water for big multinationals when it comes to our trade policy, leading to trade rules that limit the ability of our own country and our trading partners to pursue legitimate regulation of drug pricing, environmental standards, and more. Big Tech now wants to run the same play and preempt legitimate antitrust, anti-disinformation and misinformation, pro-worker and pro-consumer regulation. They should not be able to rely on you to run interference for them,” continued Senator Warren.
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