Schakowsky, Warren Press Trump Admin on Whether Big Tech Lobbyists Are Scheming to Use Major Trade Deal to Stop Regulation

Full Text of Letter (PDF)

WASHINGTON - U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and opened a new investigation into whether Big Tech companies are lobbying to avoid new AI rules using the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). In a new letter to U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer, the lawmakers raised concerns that Big Tech trade associations may be trying to use the USMCA to prevent the U.S., Mexico, and Canada from developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) standards and holding them accountable for hurting consumers.

"U.S. trade policy should focus on creating jobs, strengthening supply chains, and lowering costs for American families - not advancing the interests of Big Tech CEOs by letting their companies run amok," wrote the lawmakers.

Big Tech companies have long lobbied against regulations that protect consumers, promote competition, and safeguard data security and privacy. In recent years, the industry has spent $100 million lobbying against AI regulation, including in support of a 10-year moratorium on state-level AI regulation. They are now attempting to use trade deals to preempt even the federal government from effectively regulating AI.

The USMCA already prohibits signatories - including the United States - from requiring companies to share source code outside of open investigations, making it harder to proactively regulate these companies.

"This language is far broader than what is necessary to protect companies from intellectual property theft or infringement," said the lawmakers.

Now, according to an analysis by Public Citizen, Big Tech trade associations - representing companies like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Facebook - are lobbying to keep harmful rules and further prevent the governments of the U.S., Mexico, and Canada from regulating the digital ecosystem, including AI. If Big Tech is successful, they could even circumvent state laws that limit exports of sensitive personal data or guarantee protections to allow AI models to be trained on copyrighted materials.

"(T)his digital trade strategy would limit - or even potentially bar - federal and state governments' ability to enact or enforce domestic policies to counter Big Tech's influence and protect consumers from harm," noted the lawmakers.

The lawmakers warned that restrictions on regulating these companies are especially concerning as AI plays a larger role in Americans' lives. In particular, they point to employers' use of AI to replace workers and AI chatbots engaging in inappropriate conversations with minors and possibly leading youth in crisis to self-harm.

"It is crucial that governments have the tools they need to effectively protect their citizens against these harms," said the lawmakers.

The members urged Mr. Greer to ensure that any revised version of the USMCA eliminates "source code secrecy provisions that allow Big Tech companies to escape regulatory scrutiny."

"Congress and state legislatures must work to ensure the safe, responsible deployment of AI, and special AI source code secrecy protections make it virtually impossible for regulatory bodies at home and abroad to secure AI accountability from Big Tech," concluded the lawmakers.

The lawmakers asked Mr. Greer to explain whether and to what extent the Trump administration is allowing Big Tech companies to influence USMCA negotiations by August 5, 2026.

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