Chile, New Zealand and Singapore complete the negotiations for the first digital economy partnership agreement
This agreement provides a model for future negotiations and promotes the export of digital services, with a focus on individuals, microbusinesses and SMEs.
Today, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore completed the negotiations for the first Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA), the first of its kind in the world. The ceremony was attended by the International Economic Affairs Undersecretary, Rodrigo Yáñez, New Zealand’s Minister for Trade and Export Growth, David Parker, and Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry, Chan Chun Sing.
The DEPA arose from the three countries’ common interest to benefit the smallest economies, and to provide more opportunities to our citizens, especially micro, small- and medium-sized companies. It seeks to establish a friendly framework for ICT companies, encouraging them to export their products and services, through the regulation of fundamental areas like free flow data, non-discriminatory digital products, artificial intelligence, digital identity and privacy, among other matters.
“Digital commerce will be the driving force of the global economy in the next few decades and international economic relations must live up to the challenge. This agreement aims to provide more opportunities to our entrepreneurs and support the existence of a non-discriminatory, open, global Internet that acts as a catalyst for creativity and innovation,” commented Rodrigo Yáñez.
In that spirit, the undersecretary highlighted several new digital products that today are traded internationally, such as music, software, e-books and video games that “must be strengthened by a regulatory framework that promotes their international expansion so that any person with a good business idea and an Internet connection can reach any part of the world.”
Chilean ITC companies do business in sectors as diverse as website hosting, software licensing, data processing, Internet maintenance and repair and app development, among other things.
In the year 2018 alone, Chilean exports of ITC services totaled US$350 million; these services were provided by 204 Chilean companies, 118 of which were SMEs.
The initial talks for this agreement began in late 2018, at the time of the event to launch the Asia-Pacific Cooperation Forum (APEC) year, which took place in Santiago, Chile, in December. The start of negotiations was officially announced in May last year at the Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting in Viña del Mar.