Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that UK financial services firms can effectively use the (a) data localization and (b) transparency commitments in the UK-South Korea Free Trade Agreement.

Although we have concluded negotiations, we have not yet reached signature, let alone ratification, so this question is premature. However DBT’s Free Trade Agreement Utilisation team helps businesses understand and benefit from the UK’s new Free Trade Agreements, such as the new UK-Republic of Korea FTA, working in partnership with businesses and their representatives.

New data localisation and transparency provisions will provide legal certainty to UK firms on their treatment by Korean authorities, underpinned by appropriate enforcement mechanisms. The Republic of Korea has also agreed to publish new regulatory guidance on its domestic data rules which will give firms practical, accessible information to help navigate the Republic of Korea’s data regime and make effective use of the agreement’s commitments.