ASEAN to sign digital economy deal in Nov.

MEMBERS of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are expected to sign the Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) by November, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

On the sidelines of a briefing on Tuesday, Marie Sherylyn D. Aquia, director of the Bureau of International Trade Relations, said DEFA negotiations are expected to conclude by mid-2026.

“Hopefully by the first half of the year, the text is clean and legally scrubbed,” she said. “Then it will go through the domestic approval processes of the various ASEAN countries.”

“In the case of the Philippines, it will have to be ratified,” Ms. Aquia said.

Delegates are still fine-tuning and negotiating several DEFA articles, she said.

The signing of the DEFA is a priority economic deliverable for the Philippines while it chairs ASEAN.

Alongside DEFA negotiations, the ASEAN is also convening a Legal Experts Meeting for the agreement.

“They will review the agreed provisions to ensure clarity, consistency, and readiness of the text before it is signed in November on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit,” Ms. Aquia said.

After its signing, the DEFA will likely take effect next year, she noted.

The DEFA is set to be the world’s first region-wide and binding agreement on the digital economy and electronic commerce.

It also seeks to promote measures for online consumer protection; personal data protection; cybersecurity cooperation; and safeguards against online scams.

The agreement is also expected to address frictions in cross-border payments, benefiting the region’s micro, small and medium enterprises.

The ASEAN’s digital economy is expected to grow to $2 trillion by 2030.

Following the DEFA talks, ASEAN will organize the Preparatory Senior Economic Officials Meeting, which will review agenda items to be tackled at the ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Retreat.

The participants will discuss tariff uncertainties and the escalating Persian Gulf crisis. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz