The global competitive landscape for innovation leadership is evolving. Increasingly, countries with competitive innovation profiles are undertaking large-scale strategic planning and investment initiatives to pursue leadership in emerging technologies. Countries compete with the United States to secure capital and talent, gain an edge in the market for new products and services, and establish standards and rules of the road for emerging and strategic technologies.
Unfortunately, these efforts and commitments are not always pursued within the terms set by international trade agreements and standards. In fact, they often are accompanied by unfair trade and commercial practices — heavy-handed data localization requirements, intellectual property rights infringements, impediments to market access, etc. — that distort competition and create an uneven playing field for U.S. firms in innovation-intensive industries, including industries with serious implications for U.S. critical infrastructure and national security.
These imbalances and inequities cannot go unaddressed by the United States and its international partners. The opportunity to compete on a level playing field according to principles of fair and open market access not only positions U.S. firms and innovators to succeed in the global innovation economy but also promotes an open culture of innovation worldwide, to the benefit of all.