EU and Singapore conclude negotiations for landmark Digital Trade Agreement

EU-Singapore Digital Trade Agreement

Today, the EU and Singapore concluded negotiations for a Digital Trade Agreement (DTA). This deal is the first EU agreement of its kind, reflecting the EU's aspiration to be a global standard-setter for digital trade rules and cross-border data flows.

The DTA will complement the 2019 EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, connecting both economies further and benefiting businesses and consumers that want to engage in digital trade. It will also provide binding rules that build consumer trust, ensure predictability and legal certainty for businesses, as well as removing and preventing the emergence of unjustified barriers to digital trade. In addition, it will unlock new economic opportunities while ensuring a safe online environment.

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.

This agreement puts the EU and Singapore at the global forefront of digital policy development while upholding open and fair digital economies. It 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.

Next steps

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.

Background

The DTA is an important complement to the 2019 EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Whereas the FTA has solidified long-established and flourishing economic ties between the European Union and Singapore, this agreement takes our relationship to a next level.

The agreement is part of the EU's ambition to agree on up-to-date digital trade rules with our global partners. This is reflected also in the digital trade chapters in recent FTAs with the UK, Chile and New Zealand, as well as in the cross-border data flows agreement concluded with Japan.

The EU is the world's leading importer and exporter of digitally deliverable services. In 2022, 55% of total EU trade in services was delivered digitally, representing more than €1.3 trillion of EU imports and exports.

More than half of the total trade in services between the EU and Singapore is already digitally delivered and accounted for 55% of the total EU-Singapore trade in 2022 (worth €43 billion). The EU Singapore Digital Trade Agreement will boost this trade connection and provide further opportunities for growth.

For More Information

Joint Statement on EU-Singapore digital trade agreement

EU-Singapore Digital Partnership

EU trade and investment relations with Singapore

Digital Trade Agreements

More on EU Digital Trade

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

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