The European Union and Singapore have taken a significant step forward in their bilateral trade relations with the signing of a landmark Digital Trade Agreement (DTA).
“I am confident it will bring tangible, lasting benefits to both people and businesses in Singapore and across the entire EU,” said Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic: “An especially exciting aspect is that over half of the EU-Singapore trade in services is already digitally delivered. By connecting our digital economies and enabling trusted data flows, this agreement will unlock a wealth of new opportunities.”
The DTA allows the EU and Singapore to keep pace with the fast-evolving nature of the digital economy. It sets a high standard for digital trade rules between the EU and Singapore and raises the ambition of digital trade rules globally. It builds on the EU’s approach for digital and data rules that puts people and their rights at the centre.
Singapore is a key partner of the EU. The DTA demonstrates a clear commitment of both partners to be at the forefront of new digital developments while upholding open digital economies that are competitive, transparent, fair, and free of unjustified barriers to international trade.
The DTA will enhance consumer protection, facilitate trusted cross-border data flows and provide legal certainty for businesses that want to engage in cross-border digital trade, as well as addressing unjustified barriers to digital trade. This includes, for instance, the protection of privacy and personal data, customs duties on electronic transmissions, electronic contracts, electronic authentication and trust services, online consumer trust, unsolicited direct marketing communications, open government data, and regulatory cooperation on digital trade.
The DTA will prevent protectionist practices and policies by prohibiting unjustified data localisation measures. This will help to ensure trusted cross-border data flows and the protection of source code against unauthorised disclosure. As part of the negotiations, the Commission ensured full respect for the EU’s privacy and data protection framework, and the preservation of regulatory space in pursuing legitimate public policy objectives.
The EU and Singapore will now follow their respective procedures to work towards ratification of the EU-Singapore Digital Trade Agreement. On the EU’s side, the formal ratification of the Agreement will require the consent of the European Parliament.
