As the Trump administration races against the clock to negotiate trade deals before reciprocal tariffs snap back into place, reports suggest these agreements will be narrower in scope than originally envisioned. This reality demands strategic prioritization. The administration should focus on what matters most for America’s economic and national security future: defending our technology industry from foreign attacks.

With limited bandwidth for negotiations, we can no longer afford to treat all trade sectors equally. The United States should not pursue trade negotiations that undermine its technological advantage. Every hour spent negotiating agricultural quotas while foreign governments systematically attack our technology companies through “non-tariff attacks” is an hour lost. As Xi Jinping himself identifies technology as “the main battleground of the global playing field,” we must align our priorities accordingly.

The New Weapon: Non-Tariff Attacks on American Tech

While traditional trade negotiations focus on tariffs and market access, a more insidious threat has emerged. Foreign governments have weaponized domestic regulations to systematically target American tech companies through three sophisticated tactics:

1. They design regulations with surgical precision to capture U.S. firms while exempting domestic competitors. The EU’s Digital Markets Act “gatekeeper” criteria predictably ensnared five American companies while initially sparing European rivals. India’s data protection laws single out U.S. firms as “data fiduciaries.” Turkey’s revenue thresholds magically capture American companies while protecting local players.
2. These measures extract massive resources from American innovation. EU fines against U.S. tech firms totaled $6.7 billion in 2024 alone—one-fifth of the EU’s entire tariff revenue base. France collected over $2 billion in digital services taxes since its inception. Each billion extracted is capital lost to American innovation.
3. They hide behind legitimate policy goals while pursuing strategic objectives. As Andreas Schwab, the EU’s own rapporteur for the Digital Markets Act, admitted: “Let’s go down the line—one, two, three, four, five... But let’s not start with number 7 to include a European gatekeeper just to please Biden.” This isn’t about fair competition; it’s about targeting American success.

These attacks directly benefit China. When foreign regulations force U.S. firms to exit markets or share technology, Chinese competitors fill the vacuum. While Europe extracted $6.7 billion from U.S. tech companies last year, China deployed 969 million 5G subscriptions and raced ahead in quantum computing and AI. The January 2025 emergence of DeepSeek, which achieved breakthrough AI performance at a fraction of U.S. costs, illustrates what happens when resources are diverted from innovation to fighting discriminatory regulations.

The Strategic Choice

With the 90-day reciprocal tariff deadline creating urgency and negotiating bandwidth at a premium, the Trump administration faces a strategic choice: Continue haggling over commodity exports while our technology leadership erodes, or recognize that some battles matter more than others.

A bipartisan coalition of policy experts recently urged the administration, in a letter to Treasury Secretary Bessent, Commerce Secretary Lutnick, USTR Greer, and Senior Counselor Navarro, to prioritize these non-tariff attacks in trade negotiations, citing over 100 examples of discriminatory policies targeting U.S. tech companies worldwide.

Canada’s swift repeal of its digital services tax after Trump threatened trade action demonstrates what’s possible when priorities are clear. But much more remains.

Some might argue these aren’t traditional trade issues. That’s precisely why they matter. Economic competition has evolved. In an era where algorithms matter more than agricultural exports and data flows determine power more than commodity shipments, protecting technology leadership is the paramount trade priority. R&D-intensive tech sectors drive both radical breakthroughs and incremental innovations that cascade throughout the economy. Moreover, advanced technologies increasingly serve dual purposes—powering both commercial applications and defense capabilities. In the strategic competition with China, control over foundational technologies such as AI, quantum computing, and semiconductors will determine not only economic prosperity but also military advantage and global influence for decades to come.

As the coalition letter makes clear: “Non-tariff attacks on U.S. technology leadership through undue or disproportionate measures represent one of the most significant trade challenges of our time.”

Every negotiating hour matters. Every trade-off counts. In the competition for technological supremacy that will determine economic and military power for decades, we cannot afford to bring yesterday’s priorities to tomorrow’s fight. The Trump administration must put defending American tech at the very top of the trade agenda. The U.S. national security and long-term economic competitiveness depends on getting this priority right.