Table 1.
Coding of digital provisions in trade agreements concluded between March 2018 and January 2023 (date of signature)
| CPTPP 03/2018 |
USMCA 11/2018 |
JPN-US 10/2019 |
DEPA 06/2020 |
AUS-SG DEA 08/2020 |
JPN-UK 10/2020 |
RCEP 11/2020 |
EU-UK 12/2020 |
AUS-UK 12/2021 |
SG-UK DEA 02/2022 |
NZ-UK 02/2022 |
KOR-SG 01/2023 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issue 1: Trade facilitation | ||||||||||||
| Moratorium on customs duties on e-transmissions | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | (2) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Electronic transactions framework | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | (2*) | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Conclusion of contracts by electronic means | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3** | 0 | 3* | 3** | 3** | 3** | 0 |
| E-authentication and trust services | 3** | 3** | 3** | 0 | 3** | 3** | (3**) | 4* | 4** | 4** | 4** | 3** |
| Facilitating paperless trade | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3** | 3** | 0 | (1) | 0 | 1 | 3** | 2 | 4** |
| Cooperation and interoperability on digital identities | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2** | 1 |
| Implementation of e-invoicing systems | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Regulating cross-border e-payments | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Regulating cross-border logistics | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Issue 2: Cross-border data flows | ||||||||||||
| Free flow of data (non-financial) | 3* | 3* | 3* | 3* | 3* | 3* | (3***) | 0 | 3* | 3* | 3* | 3* |
| Data localization (non-financial) | 3* | 3 | 3 | 3* | 3* | 3* | (3***) | 3 | 3* | 3* | 3* | 3* |
| Protection of personal information | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | (2) | 2*** | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Free flow of financial data | 3** | 3** | 3** | 0 | 3** | 3** | (3**) | 3** | 3** | 3** | 3** | 3** |
| Localization of financial data | 3** | 3** | 3** | 0 | 3** | 3** | (3***) | 3** | 3** | 3** | 3** | 1 |
| Access to government data | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Supporting data innovation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Issue 3: Innovation and regulation of new technologies | ||||||||||||
| Mandatory disclosure of source code | 3* | 4* | 4* | 0 | 3* | 4* | 0 | 3* | 3* | 4* | 0 | 4* |
| Regulation of ICT products that use cryptography | 0 | 0 | 3* | 3* | 3* | 3* | 0 | 0 | 3* | 3* | 3* | 3* |
| Adoption of standards & conformity assessment | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Governance of AI and emerging technologies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | (2) | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Supply of new financial services and fintech cooperation | 3** | 3** | 0 | 2 | 3** | 3** | (1) | 3** | 3** | 3** | 3** | 2 |
| Regtech cooperation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Lawtech cooperation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Issue 4: Regulation of digital platforms | ||||||||||||
| Limiting ISP liability (non-IP) | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Limiting ISP liability for IP infringement | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Safety and security online | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Principles on access to and use of the internet | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2** | 0 | 3** | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Competition policy in digital markets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2** | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Issue 5: Collective rights | ||||||||||||
| Protection of online consumers | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | (2) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Regulation of spam | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | (2) | 3* | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Cooperation on cybersecurity matters | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | (1) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Labour protections | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Issue 6: Stakeholder engagement and digital inclusion | ||||||||||||
| Promoting stakeholder engagement | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | (1) | 0 | (2) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Facilitating digital inclusion | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Notes: All provisions which are coded in brackets (e.g. RCEP e-commerce chapter and Australia–UK innovation chapter) reflect the fact that the provision is not subject to dispute settlement.
Source: Legal coding of provisions by authors (see annex for code book).