The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), which is expected to be signed during the ASEAN Summit, is seen to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) expand beyond their local markets and reach a wider customer base across the region, according to the ASEAN Foundation.
Piti Srisangnam, executive director of the ASEAN Foundation, said DEFA is expected to help SMEs tap cross-border markets by harmonizing digital economy rules and regulations across the bloc’s 11 member-states.
“When you’re dealing with the market in the digital world, you need your own legal entity, and ASEAN DEFA will do that,” Mr. Srisangnam told reporters during the TikTok Shop and ASEAN SOAR Together event on Friday.
He said the agreement would also help improve security and trust in digital transactions by allowing businesses to verify the legitimacy of their business partners, reducing the risk of scams.
DEFA would also establish safeguards for company, SME and consumer data, ensuring that access is limited to authorized individuals, he said.
Mr. Srisangnam added that DEFA could help establish a stronger digital trade ecosystem within ASEAN, which could eventually serve as a model for strengthening the digital trade provisions of the bloc’s existing free trade agreements (FTAs) with external partners, including China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
“With DEFA, we can upgrade all those existing FTAs to focus more on digital trade,” he said.
The agreement, which is expected to be signed during the Philippines-hosted ASEAN Summit on Nov. 15 to 17, is projected to double the value of the region’s digital economy to $2 trillion by 2030.
For Filipino sports nutrition and lifestyle brand Wheyl Nutrition Co., the objectives of DEFA are welcome as more companies seek to expand their brands into other countries.
“It’s very nice to see that our government is recognizing the need to connect the different businesses all around the region,” said Jason C. Reyes, co-founder of Wheyl Nutrition Co. “Many companies like us, would like to export in other countries.” — Edg Adrian A. Eva
