Member-only story
As Joe Biden prepares to assume the presidency, foreign policy will be high on his agenda, including US relations with Asia. In this context, boosting economic relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) must be a priority.
ASEAN comprises a diverse mix of ten Southeast Asian countries, including: the sprawling archipelagic nation of Indonesia; land-locked, mountainous Laos, and the high-tech financial center that is Singapore. Brunei, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam round out the membership. ASEAN countries boast a population of 670 million — more than the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada combined.
ASEAN’s demographic profile is comparatively young; nearly three-fifths of the population is under 35. Its five largest developing country economies grew at an incredible annual average of more than 5 percent between 2010 and 2019. ASEAN as a whole is on track to become the world’s fourth largest economy by 2030, behind only the US, China and India.
ASEAN is already one of America’s top dozen trading partners, importing large quantities of electrical machinery, aircraft, mineral fuels and optical and medical instruments annually in a goods and services trading relationship valued at more than $350 billion last year. US exports to ASEAN support hundreds of thousands of…
