The member states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) have made good progress in negotiations towards a Digital Economy Agreement with Singapore. The agreement should help to promote trade in goods and services on the basis of innovative technologies.

The EFTA member states (Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland) are keen to conclude a Digital Economy Agreement with Singapore. At the start of September, representatives from both sides convened for the fifth round of negotiations and, according to a press release issued by EFTA, made good progress on a number of key points.

The partners reached an agreement on articles to effectively protect users from unsolicited commercial messages and to promote paperless trading and electronic invoicing by businesses, while progress has also been made on data protection issues. The negotiations first launched in February are set to be continued in the fall.

The planned agreement between the EFTA member states and Singapore is intended to create a clear framework to promote trade in goods and services on the basis of innovative technologies. In this context, the focus is on topics such as network security, signature services, electronic payment services and consumer protection, while the agreement should also form the basis for cooperation in other areas of interest, such as fintech and the token economy.

The EFTA member states and Singapore already implemented a free trade agreement in 2003, which the new agreement would now supplement.

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