Today, Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič and Singapore Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations Grace Fu Hai Yien signed together a Digital Trade Agreement (DTA), concluding a two-year negotiation effort and building upon the existing Free Trade Agreement between between the bloc and the Asian country.
Through this agreement, the European Union wants to:
- Enhance consumer protection (e.g. protection of privacy and personal data, mitigation of unsolicited direct marketing communications).
- Facilitate end-to-end digital trade and cross-border data flows (e.g. electronic authentication and trust services).
- Provide legal certainty for businesses that want to engage in cross-border digital trade.
- Prevent protectionist practices and policies by prohibiting unjustified barriers to digital trade.
In his joint statement, Commission Šefčovič noted that the DTA would “mark a significant step in deepening our cooperation in the digital domain. In these uncertain times, the EU and Singapore are like-minded partners in upholding a rules-based trading order”, hinting at the on-going trade wars going on between the world and the United States since early April.
Trade in goods and services between the EU and Singapore reached over €132 billion in 2023. This volume marks a 23.5% increase since the Free Trade Agreement took effect in 2019, with services comprising €78 billion (59.1%) of the total trade.
The Agreement must now be ratified by both authorities.
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