[CTC] Business chief sees good chance for US-ASEAN digital trade talks

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Politico Weekly Trade


— The new head of the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council said he’s optimistic the Biden administration could soon announce plans for talks on a digital trade agreement with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

BUSINESS CHIEF SEES GOOD CHANCE FOR U.S.-ASEAN DIGITAL TRADE TALKS: Ted Osius, the new president and CEO  <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7efd278b9b66bda4cbcdff19a39ad410dfba4fa1ad3ac373f6e95131bd3835dc21fca44ff8913117f21538abe9d0543d>of the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council, has deep roots in Asia from his years of experience in U.S. government service. The former ambassador to Vietnam worked for then-Sen. Al Gore (D-Tenn.) in the mid-1980s before joining the State Department, where his first overseas assignment was in the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines. 

Over the next three decades, Osius served in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and India. He also worked in Gore’s vice presidential office in the late 1990s as an adviser on Asian issues and at the State Department in the mid-2000s as deputy director of the South Korean office. Former President Barack Obama picked him to be ambassador to Vietnam in 2014. 

In an interview with Morning Trade, Osius said he was optimistic, based on conversations with officials on both sides, that the Biden administration would soon launch talks with members of ASEAN on a digital trade agreement.

“There are some really amazing opportunities in the digital space,” Osius said. “ASEAN is young. It's tech-savvy. It's online. There are over 380 million people in ASEAN that are younger than 35 years old. That's more than the entire U.S. population. And it’s the fastest-growing internet economy in the world.”

Fourth-largest U.S. export market: The 10 nations in ASEAN have a combined population of 662 million people and a gross domestic product of $3.2 trillion. Last year, the U.S. exported $122 billion worth of goods to the region, making it the fourth-largest U.S. export market. 

All 10 ASEAN countries are members of a trade pact with China called the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and several — Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei — are members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership that the U.S.negotiated and then abandoned after Donald Trump became president.

The Biden administration has no interest right now in rejoining the TPP, to the frustration of many in the business community and in the region. 

Still, “I think the administration recognizes that in Asia, trade is strategy,” Osius said “And I think there's a general awareness that ASEAN wants a trade deal and that having a forward-looking trade policy will be very important to revitalizing U.S. influence in Asia.”

Osius also said he believed negotiating a digital trade deal “would not be as heavy a lift as a much broader agreement because much of the content is already there” in other digital agreements in the region. 

However, the Biden administration’s “strategic-level understanding of how important this is doesn't wipe away the politics. So I wouldn't raise expectations too high,” he said. 

USTR-ASEAN meeting next week: Brunei is hosting the annual ASEAN Economic Ministers meeting beginning today, and the group’s consultations with various trading partners will continue for 10 days. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and her ASEAN counterparts are expected to discuss prospects for a digital trade agreement and how to strengthen supply chains and sustainability efforts when they meet next week, Osius said.


Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




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