The United Kingdom Singapore Digital Economy Agreement Enters into Force

24 JUN 2022

*Joint Press Release by Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Communications and Information and Infocomm Media Development Authority *

  1. The United Kingdom (UK) – Singapore Digital Economy Agreement (UKSDEA) will enter into force on 14 June 2022. Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat will officially announce this on 14 June 2022 at the London Tech Week held in the UK.

  2. The UKSDEA was signed by Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations S Iswaran and UK Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 25 February 2022. The UK and Singapore have since worked expeditiously to complete the legal requirements and procedures for the agreement’s entry into force.

  3. The UKSDEA’s entry into force reflects the UK and Singapore’s strong commitment towards enabling new growth opportunities for Singapore businesses in the digital economy. With the UKSDEA, benefits to businesses include end-to-end digital trade such as safe and secure e-payments and paperless trading, as well as seamless and trusted data flows, which encourage participation in the digital economy. Consumers will enjoy greater online consumer protection, as well as safe and secure cross-border payments.

  4. Singapore and the UK have also signed three Memoranda of Understanding1 and exchanged two side-letters2, as part of efforts to pursue cooperative projects on forward-looking and emerging issues under the UKSDEA.

Annex A:Factsheet on the UKSDEA

Annex B: Infographic of the UKSDEA

Annex C: Quotes from the companies on UKSDEA

1 These cover Digital Trade Facilitation, Digital Identities and Cyber Security. 2 These cover FinTech and Customs Cooperation.