CDT Signs Joint Letter Urging Biden to Protect Right to Repair Against Trade Agreement Override

CDT joined a coalition of consumer, business, farmer, and digital rights groups in a letter urging President Biden and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to ensure that language is not included in a trade agreement currently under negotiation that could undercut the “right to repair” for consumers, businesses, and farmers comprising 40 percent of the global economy.

The trade agreement is the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, or IPEF. The letter is in response to reports that some in the tech industry are seeking to include language that could preclude the signing countries from enacting legislation to require manufacturers of electronics-enabled devices to share basic information, parts, and tools needed for diagnosis, maintenance, and repair.

This would keep the repair aftermarket monopolized, denying consumers and businesses choice, and denying the opportunity for independent repair shops to provide these services.

Read the full letter here.