On June 27, 2023, the Council greenlighted the European Commission’s mandate for digital trade negotiations with the Republic of Korea and Singapore. This will now enable the European Commission to start swiftly the negotiations with both countries.
These digital trade negotiations demonstrate the strategic importance of digital trade and the pivotal role of the Indo-Pacific region in this context. The negotiations, once concluded, will contribute to our societies’ digital transformation and enhance the EU’s role in the Indo-Pacific region.
The EU already has well-established and fruitful trade relationships with both the Republic of Korea and Singapore, thanks to trade agreements concluded in 2011, and 2019 respectively.
In its 2021 Trade Policy Review and the 2021 EU Strategy for the Indo-Pacific, the Commission aimed at reinforcing digital trade agreements, to engage with countries around the world and support the EU’s digital agenda, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.
In this context, the EU launched a Digital Partnership with the Republic of Korea in 2022 and with Singapore this year, including Digital Trade Principles, reflecting our joint commitment to an open digital economy and providing a common framework to boost digital trade between us, and globally.
Yesterday’s decision of the Council is another step in the EU’s engagement in shaping global rules on digital trade in a dynamic and ever more digitalised world, promoting the EU’s value-based and human-centric approach for its digital agenda.
Source Press release
