WSJ: The US is pushing for the establishment of global trade rules in the AI era, competing for data flow and source code protection

Comparatively, according to WSJ reports, in addition to the tariff policy, the US Trump administration is promoting a longer-term strategic layout to establish a next-generation global trade rules system around cross-border data flows, cloud computing, software, and artificial intelligence by signing agreements with major trading partners.

According to the report, 43 jurisdictions around the world have implemented 146 digital trade barriers, including digital services taxes, data localization requirements, restrictions on cross-border data flows, and measures requiring enterprises to hand over source code, technology, and commercial data. The US believes that these rules are weakening the competitiveness of domestic technology companies and the digital economy.

Agreements recently reached between the US and Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia and other countries include provisions prohibiting forced technology transfer, guaranteeing the free flow of data across borders, prohibiting the government from requiring enterprises to submit source code, and maintain electronic transmission exemption from tariffs, and are regarded as the initial framework for digital trade rules in the AI era. Analysts believe that in the future, competition for international rules around data governance, AI regulation, and digital trade standards will become an important direction in the global economic game.