On 2 November 2021, the International Trade Committee published the Government’s response to its Digital Trade and Data Report.
The Government’s response, available here, responds to each of the following recommendations made in the Digital Trade and Data report:
- The Government should produce and publish a digital trade and data strategy which clarifies the UK’s approach across all trade negotiations and how this approach interacts with domestic law.
- When trade agreements are agreed, the Government should publish an assessment of the agreement’s impact on the protection of citizens’ data and ability of the UK to maintain its data protection regime.
- The Government should publish an assessment on the risk of UK citizens’ data being passed onto third countries without sufficient safeguards when new trade agreements are signed, as well as outlining ways to prevent this from occurring.
- The Government should publish an assessment of the potential impact of new trade agreements on maintaining data adequacy with the European Union.
- While the Government’s intention to build on GDPR is welcome, it should set out how the UK will depart from the EU’s GDPR while maintaining data adequacy and minimising regulatory burdens for businesses.
The Digital Trade and Data report, published in June 2021, is available here.