Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Steven Ciobo (Source: EPA/VNA) Sydney (VNA) – Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment StevenCiobo has announced a joint initiative between the Government of Australia and 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) topromote digital trade and support inclusive economic growth in the region.
TheDigital Trade Standards Initiative was published right after theASEAN-Australia Business Conference which was held in Sydney on March 16 withinthe framework of the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit.
Thedevelopment of the ASEAN-Australia Digital Trade Standards Initiative willprovide a framework to support the development, adoption and use of internationaldigital trade standards, Ciobo said.
Harmonisedinternational standards applied across the region will reduce the costs forAustralian business when exporting and importing products and services, hestressed.
Thiswill mean that a local business in Geelong or Townsville will be able to betteraccess export markets in the region which is home to over 600 millionconsumers, Ciobo added.
Thegrowth of ASEAN as an e-commerce market is outpacing global averages. Taken asa whole, ASEAN is expected to grow above 5.4 percent each year for the nextdecade and beyond. This growth creates immense opportunity for Australianbusinesses looking to sell their products and services online.
Internationalstandards that enable digital trade will remove barriers that preventbusinesses from accessing regional markets and create new opportunities forjobs and growth. It will help share the benefits of a more inclusive digitaleconomy.
Thisinitiative complements ASEAN’s existing digital economy agenda and builds onAustralia and ASEAN’s long history of standards cooperation to promote regionaleconomic integration and inclusive economic growth.-VNA
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