South Korea and the EU launched a three-day third round of digital trade agreement negotiations on March 25 in Brussels, Belgium, aiming to further narrow differences in digital trade rules.

According to South Koreas Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, this round of negotiations will involve in-depth discussions on specific clauses, confirming each sides positions and striving for consensus on key issues.

The Korea-EU digital trade agreement negotiations began in October 2022, with two previous rounds completed in Brussels and Seoul. The agreement aims to eliminate digital trade barriers, promote e-commerce development, and build a trustworthy digital environment.

Expected negotiation topics will include tariff exemptions for electronic transmissions such as audio and video, granting fair treatment to digital products, and prohibiting requirements to provide source code as a condition for project access.

The South Korean government believes that reducing barriers to digital commerce will create new opportunities for various industries and is committed to leading the formulation of global digital trade rules.

In fact, South Korea has already taken steps in the digital economy. In November 2022, South Korea signed the Digital Partnership Agreement with Singapore, and in June 2023, it joined the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement.

Analysts point out that this round of negotiations is crucial for establishing cooperation rules between South Korea and the EU in the field of digital trade. Whether the two sides can ultimately reach an agreement will largely influence the evolutionary direction of global digital trade order.

Notably, as the worlds largest trading bloc, the EUs stance on digital trade rules will set a certain exemplary effect for other negotiating counterparts. Meanwhile, South Korea hopes to consolidate its competitive advantages in related industrial sectors by concluding more digital trade agreements.

Overall, digital trade negotiations have become a significant landscape in the current era of trade rule reshaping. Regardless of the negotiation outcomes, they will undoubtedly exert profound impacts on the future global digital economic order.