Singapore finalises digital economy agreement with the UK

This makes the UK the third country to have a DEA with Singapore.

Singapore and the United Kingdom came to terms on negotiations over a digital economy agreement (DEA), according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Communications and Information, and the Infocomm Media Development Authority. 

Present at the joint announcement were Minister-in-Charge of Trade Relations S Iswaran and UK Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan.

“Singapore’s digital economy agreements build on and enhance the economic connectivity established through our extensive network of free trade agreements. I am pleased that Singapore and the UK, as like minded and digitally progressive partners, have substantially concluded an ambitious and cutting-edge digital economy agreement. Reflecting our shared ambition, the UKSDEA builds upon and, in some areas, goes further than our existing agreements,” said Isawaran. 

Following Chile and New Zealand, the UK represents the third DEA for Singapore. Included in the agreement are binding disciplines on cornerstones of the digital economy, such as data and cooperative elements on areas such as artificial intelligence, fintech and regtech. 

Three key thrusts make up the DEA with the UK, namely, the advancement of end-to-end digital trade, enabling of trusted data flows, and the facilitation of a trusted and secure digital environment.