News & Politics

  • CBP Champions Trade Modernization Through Global Interoperability Standards Testing

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    U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced the agency’s 2024-2025 plan to accelerate testing and adoption of global interoperability standards, kicking off a new testing phase for innovative trade technology. The agency will work with private and public sector partners during the 2024 testing phase this fall, leading up to international testing in 2025. Interoperability… Read more

  • Joint Statement on Electronic Commerce

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    The following communication, dated 26 July 2024 is being circulated at the request of Australia, Japan and Singapore as Co-Convenors on behalf of the participants of the Joint Statement Initiative on Electronic Commerce. We recognise the importance of global electronic commerce and the opportunities it creates for inclusive trade and development, and the important role… Read more

  • EU and Singapore Conclude Negotiations for Landmark Digital Trade Agreement

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    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… Read more

  • Study on the potential impacts of a future EU-Singapore Digital Trade Agreement

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    The European Union (EU) and Singapore are currently negotiating a new EU-Singapore Digital Trade Agreement (EUSDTA). The EUSDTA builds on several existing trade arrangements between the EU and Singapore, including a bilateral free trade agreement, the investment protection agreement, which is pending ratification, and a negotiated set of digital trade principles. Negotiations for the EUSDTA… Read more

  • Legal Framework for Digital Development and Transformation in Selected Industries

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    In recent years, the development and widening application of emerging digital technology – e.g. Web 3.0 technology (including distributed ledger technology (“DLT”)), Internet of Things (“IoT”), artificial intelligence (“AI”) and automation – have transformed ways through which economic activities are conducted, leading to the emergence of a “digital economy”. Specifically, Web 3.0 technology may disrupt… Read more

  • European Services Forum Position Paper on EU Future Trade Policy

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    Competitiveness concerns have returned to EU discourses. The warning signals concerning the EU’s economic underperformance are growing, notably from Germany, where the EU’s main economic engine for the European Union is slowing down. To add to these grim overall macroeconomic trends, there are also growing clouds on the trade horizon: war, geopolitical tensions, the Red… Read more

  • U.S-EU Joint Statement of the Trade and Technology Council

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    The sixth ministerial meeting of the Trade and Technology Council (“TTC”) took place in Leuven, Belgium, on 4 and 5 April 2024. It was co-chaired by European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager, European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, United States Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and… Read more

  • EU-Japan Memorandum of Cooperation on Digital Identities and Trust services to implement Data Free Flow with Trust

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    This Memorandum of Cooperation describes how the Digital Agency of Japan and the European Commission intend to take collaborative actions on digital identity in order to facilitate Data Free Flow with Trust. The Memorandum should be implemented through a number of collaborative actions that will build shared commitment on digital identity initiatives and complement the… Read more

  • Study on the Potential of Blockchain Technology and Other Digital Tools in Facilitating EU Climate Policy Implementation

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    This study explores the potential of blockchain technology and digital solutions to support the implementation of European Union (EU) climate policies by the European Commission. The main objective is to identify EU climate policies that can benefit from distributed ledger technologies (DLT) and digital tools. The study comprises three tasks: The study evaluates the advantages… Read more

  • U.S.-Japan Trade Agreements and Negotiations

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    The United States and Japan, among the world’s largest economies, are close economic partners. As a top U.S. trade partner, Japan has been a priority for U.S. trade negotiations and regional economic cooperation. The U.S. and Japan do not have a comprehensive bilateral free trade agreement (FTA); the partners have two limited trade deals. The… Read more