Speech by Minister for Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry) Dr Tan See Leng at the US-ASEAN Strategic Business Forum

1. Good morning. It is my pleasure to join you at the inaugural US-ASEAN Strategic Business Forum.

2. My congratulations and appreciation to the US-ASEAN Business Council for choosing Singapore to host the first edition of this Forum.

3. The theme of today's Forum, "Decoding Strategy in a Time of Global Realignment", could not be timelier.

4. For many years, businesses built global strategies primarily around efficiency – where could they produce most competitively, source most efficiently, and serve markets most effectively?

5. Today, these calculations have become significantly more complicated.

   1. Tariffs, export controls, and other trade restrictions and measures are impacting business decisions and as a result, they also reconfigure trade and investmentgrowth.

   2. Businesses increasingly have to weigh resilience and security alongside efficiency and cost.

6. Against this backdrop, many businesses are asking: where can they find reliable partners, stability, and opportunities for long-term growth? US businesses are also asking the same questions.

7. I believe ASEAN offers a compelling answer. Not just because ASEAN is insulated from the changes taking place around us but more importantly, ASEAN continues to do three things that matter greatly to businesses: (a) remaining resilient; (b) deepen integration amongst ASEAN member states; and (c) always staying open and connected to the world.

ASEAN remains a resilient base for growth

8. First, ASEAN remains a region of growth, stability and resilience, and a strong base for US companies seeking long-term opportunities and partnerships in Asia.

9. Collectively, ASEAN is the world’s fourth-largest economy, with a combined GDP of around US$4 trillion. It is also home to around 700 million people, the world’s third-largest population after China and India.

10. More importantly, the region continues to grow. The ASEAN economy grew by around 4.5 per cent in 2025 despite external headwinds. Foreign direct investment exceeded US$240 billion, around 15 per cent of global FDI.

11. These numbers reflect something more fundamental.

12. Over several decades, ASEAN has developed dense economic linkages across manufacturing, services and the digital economy.

    1. This gives companies access not simply to eleven individual markets, but to regional production networks, capabilities and a growing consumer base.

    2. These connections support growth in good times.

    3. They also strengthen resilience when disruptions occur, by giving businesses more options for where they source, produce and sell.

13. When shocks occur, ASEAN also responds together, avoiding unilateral actions that could worsen disruption across the region.

    1. We saw this most recently during the energy crisis. As oil prices rose and supply chains came under pressure, ASEAN countries agreed to keep trade open and avoid export bans on essential goods.

14. We are further strengthening the arrangements that allow ASEAN to respond collectively to shocks.

    1. For example, ASEAN is working towards the ratification of the ASEAN Petroleum Security Agreement (APSA), which seeks to strengthen the region’s preparedness and collective responses to future oil and gas supply disruptions.

    2. We are also strengthening the rules governing trade within ASEAN. The upgraded ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), signed last October, strengthens trade facilitation, transparency and cooperation on non-tariff measures. We are now working to bring the Agreement into force within this year.

15. These arrangements do not make ASEAN immune from shocks, but they can reduce friction when shocks occur, improve predictability, and give businesses greater confidence that ASEAN will remain a reliable base from which to operate.

ASEAN is building a more seamless and predictable marketplace

16. Second, ASEAN remains steadfast in our vision of a more seamless marketplace for trade, investment, and people flows.  This matters because ASEAN’s value proposition cannot rest only on the growth of eleven individual economies. Our greater opportunity lies in connecting them.

17. That means making it easier for goods, services, capital, data and energy to move across borders – and progressively reducing the friction businesses face when operating across ASEAN.

18. We are making progress on several fronts.

19. One, the digital economy.

    1. ASEAN is developing common digital rules to make it easier for businesses to access opportunities and operate across borders through the Digital Economy Framework Agreement, or DEFA for short.

    2. We concluded negotiations this May and are working towards signing it in November this year at the 49^th ASEAN Summit. As the region’s first standalone and most comprehensive digital economy agreement, the ASEAN DEFA will cover key enablers of the digital economy such as digital trade, cross-border data flows, electronic payments and cooperation in emerging technologies such as AI.

    3. Looking ahead, AI will be the next important frontier for ASEAN’s digital economy. As AI becomes more widely adopted across businesses and societies, ASEAN will develop practical approaches to AI governance that enable innovation, facilitate adoption, and build trust across our diverse markets.

20. Two, the green economy.

    1. ASEAN is strengthening regional energy connectivity through the ASEAN Power Grid. By enabling countries to share electricity across borders, we can diversify energy supplies, strengthen energy security and support the transition to cleaner energy.

    2. The Lao-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project has demonstrated the viability of multilateral cross-border electricity in ASEAN, and we look forward to the region coming together to advance the ASEAN Power Grid.

21. Three, trade facilitation.

    1. The ASEAN Single Window continues to help companies trade more seamlessly and efficiently across borders. By linking national systems, it enables trade documents to be exchanged electronically.

    2. Since 2022, more than one million electronic Certificates of Origin have saved businesses an estimated six million business days and US$150 million in costs.

22. These examples show how regional integration can deliver practical benefits for businesses: greater certainty, stronger connectivity, and more efficient cross-border trade.

23. The United States has also been a valued partner to ASEAN in advancing these efforts, through technical assistance for the ASEAN Single Window, as well as through the USABC’s engagement with our DEFA negotiators on data flows and digital payments. We are grateful for your support.

ASEAN remains open and engaged with partners

24. Third, ASEAN remains open and engaged with established partners, while building ties with new ones.

25. ASEAN continues to deepen and expand our network of economic partnerships.

    1. We have strengthened our existing free trade agreements, including through the recent upgrade of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA.

    2. ASEAN is also negotiating an FTA with Canada, and in discussions with Korea on upgrading the ASEAN-Korea FTA.

    3. Türkiye became ASEAN’s 12th Dialogue Partner in July, and ASEAN is exploring the possibility of an FTA with the Gulf Cooperation Council.

    4. We are also deepening engagement with our Dialogue Partners through practical cooperation frameworks, workplans, and economic initiatives that advance our shared growth.

26. More markets provide more sources of demand; more supply chain connections provide more ways to respond when disruption occurs; and stronger partnerships make the region more resilient as a whole. So even as fragmentation grows elsewhere, ASEAN remains an open and well-connected node in the global economy.

Building the Next Chapter Together

27. The United States and ASEAN have built a strong and longstanding relationship.

28. In 2022, we elevated this relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, supported by established mechanisms such as the ASEAN-US Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement and the ASEAN-US Partnership Programme.

29. Under these frameworks, we have held US-ASEAN dialogues and supported technical cooperation in areas such as digital trade rules, trade facilitation, and MSME development. In 2025, trade between the US and ASEAN amounted to more than US$550 billion, while investment flows reached US$30 billion.

30. But the significance of this relationship goes beyond these numbers. American companies have been part of ASEAN’s growth story for decades. They have created jobs, built capabilities, developed talent and helped local firms connect to each other’s markets – strengthening not only our respective economies, but the ties between the United States and ASEAN. The USABC and its members have played an important role in building these links.

31. I encourage you to build on this foundation. Keep investing in ASEAN. Use our growing network of common rules to build regional strategies. Anchor high-value activities here. Develop local suppliers and talent. Build resilient supply chains. And partner ASEAN in your next areas of growth – from digital services and AI to clean energy and advanced manufacturing.

32. Continue to engage us early. Tell us where rules are unclear, where barriers remain, and where a common ASEAN approach could unlock more opportunities.

Conclusion

33. Next year will be a milestone year for ASEAN. We will celebrate ASEAN’s 60th anniversary and mark the 50^th anniversary of ASEAN-US Dialogue Relations. Singapore will also assume the ASEAN Chairmanship.

34. These milestones are an opportunity to renew our shared commitment to an open, integrated and resilient ASEAN. We look forward to working with our US partners to build this next chapter together.

35. Congratulations to the USABC on your inaugural US-ASEAN Strategic Business Forum. I wish everyone a very productive forum.