EU and Singapore agree landmark digital trade deal

(BRUSSELS) - The EU and Singapore concluded negotiations Thursday on a digital trade agreement with a view to connecting both economies to the benefit of businesses and consumers engaging in digital trade.

The Digital Trade Agreement (DTA) complements the 2019 EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, and provides binding rules to build consumer trust, ensure predictability and legal certainty for businesses, and remove and prevent the emergence of unjustified barriers to digital trade. In addition, it will unlock new economic opportunities while ensuring a safe online environment.

The 2nd EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement Trade Committee Meeting was attended by Valdis Dombrovskis, the Commissioner for Trade, with Grace Fu, Singaporean Minister for Sustainability and the Environment and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations.

This deal will boost EU-Singapore trade relations by:

• facilitating digitally-enabled trade in goods and services;
• ensuring cross-border data flows free of unjustified barriers;
• enhancing trust in digital trade, including through strong rules on spam.

The agreement puts the EU and Singapore at the global forefront of digital policy development while upholding open and fair digital economies, according to the EC Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis.

"Building smart, modern rules for digital trade with our global partners is crucial at a time when more than half of EU trade in services is delivered digitally". The deal with Singapore is the first agreement of its kind, he said, "representing a significant step forward for the EU's ambition to be a global standard-setter in the domain of digital trade."

The Commission says the agreement promotes the EU's approach for building digital and data rules with people and their rights at its core, and it ensures the EU and Singapore preserve policy space to develop and implement the policies required to address new challenges in the digital economy.

The political conclusion marks the end of negotiations for the EU-Singapore Digital Trade Agreement. The EU and Singapore will now follow their respective procedures to work towards formal signature and conclusion.

Joint Statement on EU-Singapore digital trade agreement

EU-Singapore Digital Partnership

EU trade and investment relations with Singapore

Digital Trade Agreements

Further information on EU Digital Trade

Study on the potential impacts of a EU-Singapore Digital Trade Agreement