ASEAN nations to start talks on digital economy pact by 2023-end

23 Aug '23

2 min read

Pic: ASEAN

Insights

A region-wide digital economy pact was on the agenda of the 55th ASEAN Economic Ministers meeting, held recently in Semarang, Indonesia.
The meeting endorsed a study on the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement that will pave the way for members to start negotiations, which will be officially launched later.
A new ASEAN Tariff Finder was also launched.

A region-wide digital economy pact was on the agenda of the 55th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Ministers (AEM) meeting, held recently in Semarang, Indonesia. The meeting endorsed a study on the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA). It will pave the way for members to start negotiations on the pact, according to a joint statement by the ASEAN.

The DEFA negotiations are expected to be officially launched at the 23rd ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) council meeting and to be officially acknowledged by ASEAN leaders at the 43rd ASEAM Summit in Jakarta in September, it said.

The ASEAN region’s digital economy will triple by the end of the decade, according to projections by the Boston Consulting Group. Progressive rules in DEFA would double this contribution to $2 trillion, said another ASEAN statement.

The ASEAN Services Facilitation Framework was also completed at the meeting. It aims at fostering a more transparent and predictable business environment for companies to engage in cross-border trade in services in the region. A new ASEAN Tariff Finder was also launched there.

ASEAN ministers also signed a memorandum of understanding with the World Intellectual Property Organisation to help regional businesses better leverage and monetise their intellectual property (IP). One such initiative was a single-stop platform for businesses to search ASEAN IP data.

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