European Union: Announced opening of negotiations on the EU-Korea digital trade agreement including customs duties on electronic transmissions

On 31 October 2023, the European Commission Executive Vice-President and the Korean Minister for Trade, following the 11 meeting under the EU-Korea Trade Committee, agreed to launch the negotiations on a digital trade agreement. The agreement would include provisions regarding emerging technologies and the new advancements in the digital economy, with the aim of countering digital protectionism. In particular, one of the topics that may be discussed is the role of customs duties on electronic transmissions and the transmitted content. The parties stated that the agreement will build on the Digital Trade Principles signed in 2022, which address areas such as data transfer, consumer protection, online safety, cyber security and the prohibition on measures requiring access to source code or encryption keys.