Executive Summary 8

1.1 Vision and Strategic Outcomes 8

1.2 Objectives for Key Digital Trade Areas 10

1.3 Key Recommendations for Harmonising DTS in ASEAN 12

1. Introduction 25

1.1 Background 25

1.2 ASEAN Flagship Digital Initiatives 26

1.3 The Role of Standards in ASEAN’s Digital Trade 27

1.4 Typology of Standards 28

1.5 Definition of Adoption, Harmonisation, and Mutual recognition 29

2. Potential Economic Benefits of Harmonised DTS in ASEAN 31

2.1 Estimating the Economic Benefits 32

2.2 Examination of Past Harmonisation Impacts 37

2.3 Potential Economic Benefits for ASEAN 38

3. Overview of DTS in ASEAN 40

3.1 Identification of Key Digital Trade Areas 40

3.2 Gap Assessment of DTS Adoption across ASEAN 42

3.3 Conclusion and Next Steps 82

4. Strategic Framework for Harmonising DTS in ASEAN 83

4.1 Strategic Framework 83

4.2 Key considerations in Designing the Roadmap 91

5. Key Recommendations for Harmonising DTS in ASEAN 93

5.1 Overview of Key ASEAN Digital Initiatives 93

5.2 Digital Trade Standards Roadmap 95

Roadmap for Digital Trade Area 1: Digital Trade Logistics and Delivery 96

Roadmap for Digital Trade Area 2: Digital Transactions 105

Roadmap for Digital Trade Area 3: Digital Trust 116

Roadmap for Digital Trade Area 4: Cooperation on Emerging Topics 130

6. Conclusion 144

Annex I: ASEAN’s Flagship Digital Initiatives 145

Cross-cutting ASEAN Digital Initiatives 145

ASEAN Flagship Digital Initiatives relevant to Digital Trade Logistics and Delivery 146

ASEAN Flagship Digital Initiatives relevant to Digital Transactions 147

ASEAN Flagship Digital Initiatives relevant to Digital Trust 149

ASEAN Flagship Digital Initiatives relevant to Cooperation on Emerging Topics 154

Annex II: Selected ASEAN Sectoral Bodies and their governance structures 156