The following statement is attributed to Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, Consumer Technology Association (CTA), regarding U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer’s trade agenda testimony before the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee:

“International trade and the ability for companies of all sizes to source, sell and compete in the global marketplace must be at the heart of the NAFTA renegotiation and other trade deals the administration is pursuing. To ensure the administration's stated goal of strengthening trade agreements to benefit our nation, we must resist protectionism and focus on modernizing our trade agreement models by including provisions addressing cross-border data flows, fair use and intermediary liability protections and promoting international harmonization of standards and regulations. U.S. trade policy must not harm the more than 1.5 million American jobs that rely on tech exports. Tech exports generated $379 billion, or 17 percent of total U.S. exports, in 2015, according to CTA's U.S. Economic Contribution of the Consumer Technology Sector Report.

“We look forward to working with Ambassador Lighthizer as the administration continues to review national trade policy with an eye toward growing our economy and creating U.S. jobs.”