11 Jul 2025
by Elena Morettini, Director of Globant’s Sustainable Business Studio, Sabina Ciofu

Global Tech and Trade Policy Update


Good afternoon from Brussels, where the EU is bracing for its letter from President Trump on the tariff rates if no deal is reached by 1 August. All your usual peace and quiet as we approach the summer holidays here in Europe… 

1. UK Tech Trade Strategy: Setting the Course – But More Work Ahead 

The UK Government’s newly released trade strategy, “A Trade Strategy for the UK’s Tech Future”, outlines a welcome direction for tech policy – but stops short of the kind of bold, coordinated action the sector needs. As techUK highlights in its response here, the document acknowledges the value of digital trade, AI and semiconductors, but lacks detail on implementation and cross-departmental coordination. 

While the strategy’s tone suggests an ambition to secure “first-mover advantage” in areas like digital infrastructure, it still lacks binding commitments to tackling trade barriers or fully leveraging trade agreements like CPTPP and the UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement. 

What’s next? The sector will be looking for clarity on how the strategy will be operationalised. 

2. EU-US Trade Talks Teeter as Trump Tariff Deadline Looms 

Trade tensions are mounting between the EU and United States as negotiations enter a decisive phase. EU officials are bracing for a letter from President Donald Trump setting out a new round of unilateral tariffs, with the 1 August deadline fast approaching. 

Red letter day? Trump told NBC News that the EU would “receive a letter in the next few hours” and that tariffs of up to 20% could apply to countries without an agreement. The move is particularly unsettling given recent EU optimism that a breakthrough deal was within reach. 

In Brussels today, senior EU trade envoys are meeting behind closed doors in hopes of putting forward a framework that can be reviewed by trade ministers early next week. But the prospect of a tariff decree signed off by the U.S. president personally is destabilising already-fragile progress. 

3. Trump’s Second Wave: Tariff Letters Target Six More Countries 

Amid the EU talks, President Trump on Wednesday unveiled a second tranche of tariff-setting letters to trade partners across Asia, Africa and Europe. The recipients include the Philippines, Moldova, Iraq, Brunei, Algeria, and Libya – with tariff rates ranging from 20% to 35%, set to go into effect on 1 August 2025. 

The Philippines, a key U.S. trading partner in Southeast Asia, saw its rate jump from 17% to 20%, while others saw slight decreases. 

This follows Monday’s executive order locking in the 1 August deadline for reciprocal tariffs on nearly 60 trading partners. While Trump described the date as “firm, but not 100% firm,” he later posted: “No extensions will be granted.” 

4. EFTA and Singapore sign Digital Economy Agreement 

The European Free Trade Association – comprising Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein – has signed a landmark Digital Economy Agreement with Singapore. 

After two years of talks, the deal includes commitments to: 

  • Prohibit customs duties on electronic transmissions 
  • Protect personal data using international best practices 
  • Allow free flow of data across borders with safeguards 
  • Ban data localisation and mandatory source code disclosure 
  • Promote trusted AI, e-invoicing, and cybersecurity cooperation 

The agreement will slot into the existing 2003 EFTA-Singapore FTA and aligns with the EU’s digital deal with Singapore, as well as WTO efforts under the Joint Statement Initiative on e-commerce. 

Singapore continues to lead globally in digital trade diplomacy, with agreements in place with Australia, South Korea, the UK, and the EU – and now, EFTA. 

5. Looking Ahead 

Join techUK at the WTO Public Forum | Geneva, 17–18 September 

techUK invites members to join our delegation to the WTO Public Forum in Geneva, taking place 17–18 September 2025. This year’s Forum comes at a pivotal moment for global digital trade – ahead of the WTO’s 13th Ministerial Conference in March 2026 and amid ongoing e-commerce rulemaking under the Joint Statement Initiative. More information and registration available soon via our events page

Washington D.C. Delegation | 23–25 September 2025 

Later in the month, techUK will lead a delegation to Washington D.C. from 23–25 September, offering members high-level access to U.S. policymakers, regulators, and thought leaders at a critical time in transatlantic tech relations. To learn more and express interest, visit the event page here


For more information on any of the above, please contact:

Sabina Ciofu

Sabina Ciofu

Associate Director – International, techUK

Sabina Ciofu is Associate Director – International, running the International Policy and Trade Programme at techUK.

Based in Brussels, she leads our EU policy and engagement. She is also our lead on international trade policy, with a focus on digital trade chapter in FTAs, regulatory cooperation as well as broader engagement with the G7, G20, WTO and OECD.

As a transatlanticist at heart, Sabina is a GMF Marshall Memorial fellow and issue-lead on the EU-US Trade and Technology Council, within DigitalEurope.

Previously, she worked as Policy Advisor to a Member of the European Parliament for almost a decade, where she specialised in tech regulation, international trade and EU-US relations.

Sabina loves building communities and bringing people together. She is the founder of the Gentlewomen’s Club and co-organiser of the Young Professionals in Digital Policy. Previously, as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community, she led several youth civic engagement and gender equality projects.

She sits on the Advisory Board of the University College London European Institute, Café Transatlantique, a network of women in transatlantic technology policy and The Nine, Brussels’ first members-only club designed for women.

Sabina holds an MA in War Studies from King’s College London and a BA in Classics from the University of Cambridge.

Email:
[email protected]
Phone:
+32 473 323 280
Website:
www.techuk.org

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Meet the team 

Sabina Ciofu

Sabina Ciofu

Associate Director – International, techUK

Daniel Clarke

Daniel Clarke

Policy Manager for International Policy and Trade, techUK

Theophile Maiziere

Theophile Maiziere

Policy Manager - EU, techUK

Lewis Walmesley-Browne

Lewis Walmesley-Browne

Head of Market Access and Consumer Tech, techUK

Tess Newton

Team Assistant, Policy and Public Affairs, techUK

 

Authors

Elena Morettini, Director of Globant’s Sustainable Business Studio

Sabina Ciofu

Sabina Ciofu

Associate Director – International, techUK

Sabina Ciofu is Associate Director – International, running the International Policy and Trade Programme at techUK.

Based in Brussels, she leads our EU policy and engagement. She is also our lead on international trade policy, with a focus on digital trade chapter in FTAs, regulatory cooperation as well as broader engagement with the G7, G20, WTO and OECD.

As a transatlanticist at heart, Sabina is a GMF Marshall Memorial fellow and issue-lead on the EU-US Trade and Technology Council, within DigitalEurope.

Previously, she worked as Policy Advisor to a Member of the European Parliament for almost a decade, where she specialised in tech regulation, international trade and EU-US relations.

Sabina loves building communities and bringing people together. She is the founder of the Gentlewomen’s Club and co-organiser of the Young Professionals in Digital Policy. Previously, as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community, she led several youth civic engagement and gender equality projects.

She sits on the Advisory Board of the University College London European Institute, Café Transatlantique, a network of women in transatlantic technology policy and The Nine, Brussels’ first members-only club designed for women.

Sabina holds an MA in War Studies from King’s College London and a BA in Classics from the University of Cambridge.

Read lessmore