Digitalisation in Foreign Economic Policy

Switzerland supports clear international rules in digital trade as an open economic and research hub. It promotes the free flow of data with strong data protection, legal certainty, and sustainable digitalization worldwide.

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Switzerland’s engagement in the digital economy

Switzerland, as a key economic and research centre, supports the development of comprehensive international rules for digital trade. It promotes the free cross-border flow of data while ensuring compliance with data protection standards and opposes unjustified data localization requirements imposed by governments. Switzerland also advances its interests in various international fora in the development of long-term, internationally coordinated solutions for the digital economy.

Switzerland, as an open and well-connected economy, ensures market access for its companies in foreign markets and strives to provide the highest possible level of legal certainty in the field of digital trade. This is achieved, on the one hand, through comprehensive rules in bilateral free trade agreements or dedicated digital trade agreements. On the other hand, Switzerland participates in the WTO Joint Statement Initiative on E-commerce (JSI). To date, Switzerland has agreed on digital trade rules with nine trading partners.

• Digital Trade / E-Commerce

Improvements are also being pursued in specific areas, such as data protection (including the Swiss–U.S. Data Privacy Framework and standard contractual clauses for companies).

Switzerland promotes responsible and sustainable digitalization as part of its economic development cooperation. It supports developing countries in harnessing the potential of digital technologies for sustainable economic growth and prosperity by strengthening reliable framework conditions and efficient regulation, and by promoting digital initiatives in public administration, the financial sector, and trade. In doing so, Switzerland contributes to reducing the digital divide and to better integrating developing countries into the global economy.

• Links

  • WTO electronic commerce (JSI)
  • Digital Trade / E-Commerce

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