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The trade ministers from Chile, New Zealand and Singapore have announced a new set of trade negotiations at this month’s APEC meeting – the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (“DEPA”).

Their Joint Ministerial Statement says:

2. We recognize that the digital transformation of our economies can be an important driver of inclusive economic growth and play a significant role in achieving sustainable development, enhancing productivity of existing industries, and fostering new markets and businesses.

3. We also recognize that a free, open, global and secure Internet can facilitate connectivity, promote innovation and competition, and foster economic growth. We are committed to preserving a free, open, global and secure Internet as essential for the digital economy and beneficial for everyone.

4. We also affirm efforts by governments and the private sector to address the issue of terrorist and violent extremist online content.

5. Digitalization has also transformed the nature of trade. We are all small, outward facing, trade dependant countries, and we share a common objective of advancing trade in the digital era to support our businesses and consumers to take advantage of the numerous opportunities offered by the digital economy.

6. In the context of this shared vision, today we are launching negotiations to establish a first-of-its-kind and forward-looking Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (“DEPA”). The DEPA seeks to deepen and strengthen cooperation in digital areas, establish new international approaches for digital trade issues, and explore new frontiers in the digital economy, such as digital identities, e-payments, cross-border data flows and artificial intelligence.

The New Zealand government has posted more information on the negotiations at www.mfat.govt.nz/depa. It is accepting comments until July 1. Comments should be emailed to e-commerce@mfat.govt.nz