Major Digital Trade Agreements and the Implications for the Korea-Singapore Digital Partnership Agreement (DPA)

Purpose - This paper analyzes all the FTAs of Korea and Singapore with e-commerce chapters and finds the extent and scope of digital trade liberalization by scrutinizing each article as well as provisions of whether they concern obligation or cooperation in terms of commitment level in the chapter. Design/Methodology/Approach - As Korea has concluded 13 FTAs with chapters about e-commerce, and Singapore 20, this research analyzes and ranks the extent and the scope of digital trade liberalization to suggest policy implications for the successful conclusion of the KSDPA. Besides RCEP, to which both countries belong, Singapore already has ratified or signed major digital trade agreements with the most advanced articles or provisions including CPTPP, DEPA, and DEA. Findings - From the analysis, the maximum degree and extent of Singapore’s liberalization of e-commerce and digital trade comply with DEA, while those of Korea do with the RCEP. In this regard, Korea’s effort to expand its digital trade partnership through KSDPA is a good starting point but needs policy pre-requisites. Research Implications - In terms of establishing trade rules and a cooperation regime with other countries, Korea needs to seek ways to improve by studying overseas cases and analyzing the domestic impact for sensitive issues such as cross-border transfer of information by electronic means, location of computing services, source code, and non-discrimination. Furthermore, key issues related to business and consumer trust, such as online consumer protection, personal information protection, and cyber security, should not only be analyzed with surveys for companies to reflect corporate interests but also those individual consumers.