Professor Paul Cheung was honored to be invited to speak at the Hongqiao International Economic Forum of the Sixth China International Import Expo (CIIE) on 6th November 2023 in Shanghai. The forum addressed issues on international digital governance and digital service trade innovations. His presentation focused on Trade in Digitally Deliverable Services (DDS), recent Singapore and ASEAN performance in DDS, and issues on cross-border data flows as a key challenge to DDS growth.
Singapore is the ninth-largest DDS trading country in the world and is setting the pace in ASEAN. There is tremendous potential for ASEAN to develop DDS as part of its growth engine. However, ASEAN’s DDS trade growth, for now, is notably hampered by limited interoperability and legal uncertainty in cross-border data transfers among member countries.
FTAs and digital economy agreements (DEAs) are crucial policy instruments to overcome challenges such as complicated transnational data transfer procedures and data localization regimes. Prof Cheung compared the provisions among RCEP, CPTPP, and DEPA and argued the urgent need for further improvement in data provisions across the digital trade regulatory landscape.
Facilitating cross-border data flow is a priority issue for ASEAN’s Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) and DDS growth in the region. Prof Cheung also touched on the great potential in DDS growth as China continues opening its digital economy to foster closer regional collaboration.