The government has secured a Digital Economy Agreement (DEA) with Singapore which it says will cut costs and slash red tape.

The deal is the first digitally-focussed trade agreement ever signed by a European country.

The agreement was agreed by international trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Singapore minister-in-charge of trade relations S. Iswaran after six months of negotiations.

The government said the DEA will take the UK’s relationship with Singapore – which was worth £16 billion in 2020 – to the “next level” by overhauling “outdated” trade rules that affect both goods and services exporters.

According to the government, a third of the UK’s exports to Singapore are already digitally delivered, including in finance, advertising and engineering.

It added that the deal will boost a sector that adds £151 billion to the economy and lifts wages, with workers in the digital economy earning around 50 per cent more than the UK average.

“This cutting-edge agreement with Singapore links two of the world’s most dynamic hi-tech hubs and plays to our strengths as pioneers in digital trade,” said Anne-Marie Trevelyan, international trade secretary. “Negotiated in just six months, it is the first digital trade deal ever signed by a European nation and will slash red tape, cut costs and support well-paid jobs across the whole UK.”

Trevelyan added: “Digital trade is creating a new global economy, but it is still largely governed by old-fashioned rules that pre-date the digital revolution of the past 20 years. We’re using our independent trade policy to strike ground-breaking agreements that update these rules for the digital age and connect UK businesses to the biggest and fastest growing markets in the world.”

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