International trade – across goods, services, and digital markets – increasingly depends on open cross-border data flows and trusted access to information, wherever it is stored or processed. As regulatory pressures grow, some countries have introduced data protection measures that restrict these flows, often citing privacy or national security concerns, creating new friction in digital trade.

Yet data is now as vital to modern economies as the movement of physical goods. When countries recognise each other’s data protection standards as adequate, information can circulate more freely across larger economic areas, driving innovation, productivity, and growth. In this context, cyber diplomacy – bridging human rights, security, and economic policy – can serve as the catalyst for balanced rules that protect citizens and enable digital trade to flourish.

Read the full paper here, authored by Michael Mudd, our Senior Digital Trade Advisor.