The press release issued by the Department for Business and Trade on 22 June 2026.
The ambitious new agreement will remove barriers to digital trade and enable UK exporters to expand into high-tech markets.
The UK and Malaysia are today launching negotiations on a new digital trade deal that will support growth and back British jobs.
Digital trade is the exchange of goods, services, and data that is enabled or delivered through digital technologies. In practice, this could include a UK business selling software to an overseas customer through an online platform or providing financial consultancy services remotely across borders.
DTAs can provide the benefits of digital trade chapters in Free Trade Agreements while remaining agile, flexible and fast to agree and implement.
Today’s announcement marks the next step in making the UK a global hub for services and digital trade. Digital trade can open new markets for businesses by reducing the costs of delivering goods and services, supporting jobs and productivity.
The UK is a world leader in digital trade and has a growing trading relationship with Malaysia, worth £6.4 billion in 2025. In 2023, the UK exported £730 million digitally delivered services to Malaysia. The OECD estimates that in 2022, exports to Malaysia supported 31,100 UK jobs.
The DTA aims to make digital trade with Malaysia easier, cheaper and more secure through cross‑border data flows. Other potential benefits could include reducing paperwork and border friction through digital systems, and guaranteeing strong protections for personal data, intellectual property, online consumers and cybersecurity.
The deal aims to strengthen international digital and tech cooperation by supporting responsible innovation in areas like AI and data. It could also create new partnerships that boost efficient supply chains, infrastructure and global competitiveness.
Trade Minister Chris Bryant said:
Launching negotiations with Malaysia marks an important step in strengthening the UK’s position as a global leader in digital trade.
A UK-Malaysia digital trade agreement has the potential to unlock new opportunities for British businesses, support high‑skilled jobs, and ensure our firms can compete and thrive in fast‑growing, tech‑driven markets.