Navigating digital trade fragmentation in the age of geoeconomics
“Nowhere is this more apparent than in the digital sphere. By 2030, ASEAN’s digital economy is expected to reach an impressive US$1 trillion, up from US$300 million today – but proposed new digital governance architecture in the form of the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) is projected to double this figure. DEFA’s digital trade provisions could increase ASEAN’s services and digital services exports by as much as 45%, equivalent to around 2% of the region’s gross domestic product (GDP), creating nearly 6 million new jobs. The digitalization of supply chains under DEFA could boost goods trade by 74%, or US$326 billion, in new trade flows.”
“How does DEFA [ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement] fit with the broader digital trade rules landscape? As Figure 1 illustrates, the context is of an Indo-Pacific ‘digital noodle bowl’ of overlapping and divergent digital trade agreements and provisions (and one in which ASEAN economies’ own participation could best be described as variable geometry).”