Big tech giants Apple, Meta, Google, Amazon and Elon Musk’s X have lodged a formal complaint urging the Trump administration to target “coercive and discriminatory” Australian media laws.
The members of the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) responded to a request by the Office of the United States Trade Representative for “comments to assist in reviewing and identifying unfair trade practices and initiating all necessary actions to investigate harm from non-reciprocal trade arrangements”.
The Office of the U.S Trade Representative (USTR) is responsible for developing and coordinating US international trade and direct investment policy, as well as overseeing negotiations with other countries.
In comments written to the trade chief on 11 March, the trade policy manager of the CCIA, Amir Nasr, highlighted Australia’s news media bargaining incentive as one of the “key examples” of discriminatory taxation of digital products and services.
The incentive aims to bolster the Morrison government’s 2021 news media bargaining code. It involves charging a new levy to digital platforms, which can be offset if they renew or initiate deals to pay news publishers.
Nasr wrote: “Australia’s extraction and redistribution of revenue from U.S. digital suppliers to local news businesses is reported to have cost U.S. firms [US]$140 million annually”.
The comments describe Australia’s news media bargaining incentive as a “proposed coercive and discriminatory tax that requires U.S. technology companies to subsidize Australian media companies”.
“Currently, the two companies targeted by the law pay AU$250 million annually through deals that were coerced through the threat of this law. However, with the threat of the new ‘incentive’ tax from the Australian government (rate yet to be determined), this cost is likely to significantly increase.”
The comments also highlight Australia’s proposed requirements for US online video providers to fund the development and production of Australian content.
“Companies could be required to pay anywhere between 10% and 20% of their local expenditure on Australian content, with qualifications that will likely make it very difficult for U.S. companies to qualify,” Nasr wrote.
“Australia’s online video streaming market is estimated to generate up to $2.3 billion of annual revenue, with the majority of it earned from U.S. companies. If the Australian government pursues the 20% expenditure mandate it has floated in the past year, that would put this revenue at risk.”
Nasr emphasised that in attempting to remediate “non-reciprocal treatment of U.S. exports abroad” it should not undermine US companies’ export interests, supply chains and domestic operations.
