The EU–Singapore digital trade agreement, effective 1 February 2026, establishes rules to boost cross-border digital trade, protect consumers, and provide legal certainty for businesses. As the EU’s first standalone bilateral digital trade deal, it promotes fair and secure digital transactions while strengthening economic ties.
The digital trade agreement between the European Union and Singapore, signed on 7 May 2025, came into effect on 1 February 2026.
The agreement represents a step forward in the EU’s trade policy, supporting competitiveness, strengthening economic security, and creating new opportunities for citizens and businesses.
The DTA strengthens bilateral trade by setting transparent rules that make cross-border digital transactions easier, more predictable, and more reliable for businesses and consumers. It achieves this by providing legal certainty for business, enhancing consumer trust, and addressing unjustified barriers to digital trade.
Amidst heightened global economic uncertainty, this agreement demonstrates the shared commitment to open, rules-based trade. It is the EU’s first-ever standalone bilateral digital trade agreement, which marks an important step in the EU’s expanding network of digital trade agreements and digital trade chapters in its free trade agreements.
The DTA will:
- Establish a safe online environment for consumers. Binding, high-standard commitments in areas such as online consumer protection, protection of personal data and privacy, and protection against unsolicited commercial messages will enhance consumer welfare, giving them greater confidence and assurance to transact in the digital economy.
- Provide greater legal certainty for businesses. By promoting paperless trade, ensuring the validity of electronic signatures. contracts and invoices, and prohibiting customs duties on electronic transmissions, it facilitates more efficient and predictable digital transactions.
- Promote fair digital trade. It prohibits unjustified data localisation requirements and forced transfers of source code of software, protecting businesses from protectionist practices and fostering confidence in digital markets.
This DTA positions the EU and Singapore as global leaders in digital policy development, while supporting open and fair digital economies. It advances the EU’s approach to shaping digital and data rules centred on people and their rights and ensures that both the EU and Singapore retain the policy space needed to develop and implement measures to address emerging challenges in the digital economy.
