European Union: Signed EU-Chile AFA and iTA including electronic trust services and electronic authentication regulation

On 13 December 2023, the European Union (EU) and the Republic of Chile signed the Advanced Framework Agreement (AFA) and the Interim Trade Agreement (iTA). The AFA enhances trade and investment by removing most remaining tariffs on goods, facilitating services trade, and simplifying business for small companies. Further, the iTA stipulates that the electronic form of an electronic trust service or an electronic authentication does not impact the legal effect of such. The iTA states that the parties are free to determine their method of electronic authentication and should not prohibit that. However, in certain cases, the iTA grants the parties the right to request a certificate or performance standards of the electronic trust service or electronic authentication.