WASHINGTON– September 4 2024 –The Global Data Alliance applauds the entry-into-force on September 1, 2024 of the UK-Ukraine Digital Trade Agreement. This Agreement reflects the leadership in the digital governance arena of both economies. The Agreement also contains high-standard commitments on cross-border access to knowledge, information, ideas, and data, consistent with the strategic interests, democratic values, and open economic systems that these economies increasingly embody. We applaud the UK and Ukrainian negotiating teams for this accomplishment.
Among other things, the UK-Ukraine Digital Trade Agreement contains the following disciplines:
- Electronic Authentication and Electronic Trust Services: Designed to capitalize on the benefits of electronic authentication and electronic trust services in providing greater certainty, integrity, and efficiency in the electronic transfer of information.
- Cross-Border Transfer of Information by Electronic Means: Promotes the benefits of cross-border access to knowledge, information, and data – while also giving each Party wide discretion to develop its own regulatory requirements regarding such transfers. More specifically, this provision prohibits arbitrary, discriminatory, or disguised restrictions on cross-border data transfers, as well as those that are more restrictive than required to meet a legitimate public policy objective.
- Localization of Computing Facilities: Contains a commitment to refrain from measures that mandate construction or use of local computing facilities as a condition of conducting business in the territory. It also affords discretion to Parties to derogate from this commitment for legitimate public policy purposes.
- Data Innovation: Contains a new “data innovation” section that: (a) recognizes that digitalisation and the use of data promote economic growth; (b) aims to safeguard the ability to transfer data across borders for purposes of data-driven innovation; and (c) proposes the creation of regulatory sandboxes, data sharing projects, and data trusts to help create an environment that enables, supports, and is conducive to, data experimentation and innovation.
- Financial Information: Provides that neither Party shall restrict financial data transfers or mandate the location of financial services computing facilities in a Party’s territory, unless a service supplier is “not able to ensure access to information required for the purposes of financial regulation and supervision.”
- Personal Data Protection: Mandates the adoption of legal frameworks for personal data protection, including disciplines regarding (a) collection and usage limitation; (b) data quality; (c) purpose specification; (d) security safeguards; (e) transparency; (f) individual participation; and (g) accountability. Also requires the promotion of compatibility between legal system and the exploration of approaches to promote interoperability.
- Cyber Security: Contains extensive new provisions on cybersecurity, including from a workforce development and training perspective. It also calls on the Parties to use risk-based approaches to manage cyber security risks and to detect, respond to and recover from cyber security events.
See the UK-Ukraine Digital Agreement here and the Explanatory Memorandum here.