Washington, D.C. – Representatives Darin LaHood (IL-18) and Suzan DelBene (WA-01) led a bipartisan effort pushing President Biden to demand changes to a proposed European Union law that directly targets American companies and their workers. In a letter signed by 30 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, lawmakers urge President Biden to intensify engagement with the EU on changes to the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
“We are greatly concerned that EU’s proposed approach to promoting competition among digital platforms unfairly targets American workers by deeming certain U.S. technology companies as ‘gatekeepers’ based on deliberately discriminatory and subjective thresholds,” the lawmakers wrote.
As currently drafted, the DMA would single out American tech companies by restricting their operations in Europe to prop up European firms. EU leaders have directly stated the DMA’s targets were intentionally set so they would not apply to European companies.
Additionally, the DMA would provide an opening for Chinese, Russian, and other foreign firms to expand operations in Europe. These include large tech firms such as Alibaba, Huawei, Baidu, and Tencent, which are significantly supported by the Chinese Communist Party.
“We believe the DMA’s discriminatory aspects raise serious concerns and are at odds with the fundamental principles of the World Trade Organization,” the letter continues.
The lawmakers encourage President Biden to work through existing forums to cooperate on digital rules.
You can read the full letter here.
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