Japan and ASEAN seek to boost trade.

The trading partners are expected to agree on a digital roadmap in their action plan at the Japan-ASEAN economic ministers' meeting in Indonesia later this month. The roadmap will include targets for the volume of digitized trade, as well as targets for digitizing customs procedures in each country.

Trade between Japan and ASEAN countries increased by 17% to US$240.2 billion in 2021, but it remains largely paper-based and electronic. Each import/export transaction can involve dozens of documents, including certificates of origin and payment information. Different companies use different formats, making the process cumbersome. Meanwhile, an increasing number of private sector services are streamlining trade through digital forms and centralized data management. The roadmap will seek to promote data linkages between such service providers in Japan and ASEAN. Japan can support countries that lack such service providers.

Furthermore, the Japan-ASEAN roadmap will also include partnerships in the extraction and recycling of minerals from discarded products. This move comes as many countries seek stable sources of lithium, rare earth elements, and other critical minerals from discarded electronic products. Japan has invested in this sector and wants to share its technology with ASEAN countries as part of the roadmap.

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