Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the UK–Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement will permit onward data transfers of UK personal data under Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Cross-Border Privacy Rules.

The UK is committed to maintaining high standards of protection for personal data, including when it is transferred across borders. Data provisions in Free Trade Agreements including the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) are separate but complementary to the UK’s adequacy process and international data protection frameworks.

Through CEPA, we have agreed to avoid unjustified restrictions on the free flow of data between the UK and Japan, and committed to maintaining a legal framework that provides for the protection of personal information. CEPA only addresses data flows between the UK and Japan and does not address onward transfers to other jurisdictions. The UK has not endorsed the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Cross Border Privacy Rules System (APEC CBPR).