Brussels, 25 July 2024
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.
More information
Quote
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. Today’s deal with Singapore, the first agreement of its kind, will benefit businesses and consumers on both sides, bringing our economies closer together, while representing a significant step forward for the EU’s ambition to be a global standard-setter in the domain of digital trade.
Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President and Commissioner for Trade
Source – EU Commission
Joint Statement on the conclusion of negotiations for the EU-Singapore Digital Trade Agreement and the second Trade Committee meeting under the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
Brussels, 25 July 2024
Joint Statement by European Commission Executive Vice-President for an Economy that Works for People and Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis and Singapore Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations Grace Fu on the conclusion of negotiations on the EU-Singapore Digital Trade Agreement and the second Trade Committee meeting under the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement.
Today, European Commission Executive Vice-President for an Economy that Works for People and Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis and Singapore Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations Grace Fu announced the conclusion of negotiations between the EU and Singapore on a Digital Trade Agreement. The Agreement reflects the strategic importance of digital trade and the pivotal role that Southeast Asia plays given the sizeable growth of its digital economy.
The EU and Singapore share long-standing and robust economic relations anchored by the 2019 EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement. A Digital Trade Agreement deepens our partnership in the digital domain, and underscores the EU and Singapore’s key role in setting high-standard and legally-binding digital trade rules.
The Digital Trade Agreement sets digital trade rules and facilitates cross border data flows between the EU and Singapore. It also demonstrates our shared objective to uphold open digital economies that are competitive, transparent, and fair. The Agreement will contribute to our societies’ digital transformation that enables our companies and people to keep pace with the fast-evolving nature of the digital economy, as well as access and benefit from greater opportunities.
The Agreement’s digital trade rules will build trust, ensure cross border data flows free of unjustified barriers, ensure predictability and legal certainty for businesses, especially micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, while ensuring that we can continue to develop and implement the policies required to address new challenges posed by the digital economy.
The EU and Singapore will now proceed with their domestic approval processes to work towards the formal signature and conclusion of the Agreement.
In conjunction with the announcement on the Digital Trade Agreement, Minister Fu and Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis co-chaired the second Trade Committee meeting under the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA), which entered into force on 21 November 2019. The Co-Chairs affirmed the strong trade relations between Singapore and the EU which have grown from strength to strength, with annual trade in goods and services exceeding €130 billion in 2022. They recognised the good bilateral cooperation on the FTA’s smooth implementation and effective functioning, and highlighted the significant progress that has been made on bilateral digital cooperation since the inaugural Trade Committee meeting in December 2021. The Co-Chairs also discussed ways to strengthen collaboration in forward-looking trade areas including the green economy, exchanged views on regional and global economic developments including at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and agreed to continue working together on shared priorities to strengthen trade and investment links.
Source – EU Commission
Study on the potential impacts of a EU-Singapore Digital Trade Agreement
Source – EEAS