UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement comes into force during London Tech Week

The UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement (UKSDEA) was signed and finalised in February and both parties have completed the legal requirements and procedures since. As officially announced by Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat during London Tech Week, the trade deal establishing rules and standards for cross-border data flows and data protection between Singapore and the United Kingdom came into force on June 14th.

The agreement aims to promote end-to-end digital trade by establishing standard digital systems for e-payments, e-invoicing, and the preservation of a safe digital environment, as well as encouraging small and medium-sized businesses to participate in the digital economy.

Furthermore, the agreement allows the UK to join Singapore in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), one of the world’s largest free trade agreements, which accounts for 13% of global GDP, or US$13.5 trillion.

In order to understand the implications of this highly innovative digital linkage that has been established between Singapore and the UK, the key features of the deal are listed as follows:

Advanced end-to-end digital trading, whether through secure e-payment systems and digital, paperless trading. This will reduce the transaction costs and time for businesses, and to further digitalize processes.

Trusted data flows. With protected source codes, data between both parties will be transferred seamlessly and data will not be localized. Furthermore, both parties will ensure submarine cable systems’ to be intact to ensure connectivity between both regions.

SMEs’ participation to the digital economy. Government information is made available to the public in easy-to-use APIs, with the aim of reducing the barriers to entry for SMEs to participate in the digital economy. Moreover, Singapore and the UK seek to promote growth for these SMEs through e-commerce platforms to create a link with global supply chains.

The article, as reported by ASEAN Briefing, can be retrieved here.

Thanks to this deal being put into force, Singapore and the UK are now freer than ever to enable new growth opportunities in the digital economy. For any of your international expansion needs, Altios is here to accompany you every step of the way.