Washington, DC - Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR) and Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) released the following statement after the European Court of Justice decision on the Schrems II case to strike down the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield.
“The EU-U.S. Privacy Shield has benefited the security of our citizens and helped preserve the sovereignty of the European nations. Agreements like this ensure that our economies are strong enough to preserve our future and fend off threats from adversaries like China. Today’s decision by the European Court of Justice on the Schrems II case is a significant setback to the safety of American and European consumers, as well as trillions of dollars in transatlantic commerce.
“There are also troubling protectionist voices coming from Europe that desire to use regulatory regimes as non-tariff trade barriers as opposed to the primary purpose of protecting consumers. Whether it is the GDPR, digital services taxes, or data localization requirements, it is clear Europe is targeting American tech companies. But our shared interests and values should outweigh these shortsighted and misguided policies.
“The European Union must not give the U.S. standards it does not apply to other countries that have no concern for protecting consumer data, and we call on the European Commission and the European Data Protection Board to work with the Trump administration to find an acceptable and sustainable path forward," said Walden and Rodgers.
Included in the Emerging Tech Agenda recently announced by Walden and Rodgers is the Showing How Isolationism Effects Long-term Development (SHIELD) Act, led by Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), which would assess how international data localization laws impact each country’s economy, our economy, and cross-border commerce.
