Workshop on Digital Trade and Artificial Intelligence Agreements for Asia and the Pacific
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) will convene the Workshop on Digital Trade and Artificial Intelligence Agreements for Asia and the Pacific in China, from 8 to 10 December 2026. The workshop will bring together senior officials from ESCAP member States to exchange views on priorities and options for strengthening regional cooperation on digital trade and artificial intelligence (AI).
Digital trade has become a main driver of the region’s services trade. In 2025, Asia-Pacific services exports grew by 5.4 per cent, led by digitally deliverable services such as ICT, telecommunications, computer, business and financial services. The Commission has recognized that trade with and among developing countries is fundamental to their ability to benefit from technological advances (resolution 80/1, para. 5). AI is expected to shape the next phase of this transformation. Asia-Pacific economies are at the forefront of incorporating AI into trade rules: as of January 2025, 14 of the 16 trade agreements worldwide with AI provisions involved economies of the region. The use of AI in trade operations, however, remains limited, standing below 15 per cent among the economies surveyed by ESCAP and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and ranging from 1 to 40 per cent across subregions.[i]
The regional governance of digital trade has not kept pace. Existing instruments, including CPTPP, RCEP, DEPA, ASEAN DEFA and the WTO Agreement on Electronic Commerce, leave gaps in data governance enforcement, AI governance, digital inclusion for smaller and developing economies, and connectivity for Pacific Island States. Participation is uneven: economies in East and South-East Asia lead in developing digital economy agreements, while those in Central and South Asia and the developing Pacific Islands economies lag behind, especially in intraregional cooperation. National regulatory approaches also diverge widely. Scores on ESCAP’s Regional Digital Trade Integration Index (RDTII), where higher scores indicate more restrictive or complex regulation, range from 0.28 to 0.59 across ASEAN and from 0.34 to 0.61 across South and South-West Asia. Rules and capacity on AI remain limited. Only 2.5 per cent of trade agreements worldwide refer to AI, and skills shortages, infrastructure costs, fragmented data systems and regulatory uncertainty constrain AI adoption in trade, with Pacific economies facing the greatest difficulties.[ii]
These challenges cannot be addressed by national measures alone. ESCAP research finds that reducing regulatory heterogeneity is important for the effective participation of smaller firms and less developed countries in cross-border digital trade. There is also considerable scope for deeper regional integration, as only about 21 per cent of the region’s services exports are destined for other economies in the region. ESCAP has a record of supporting regional cooperation in this area. In 2012, the Commission invited member States to work towards regional arrangements on cross-border paperless trade (resolution 68/3). In 2016, it adopted the Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific (resolution 72/4). The Agreement entered into force on 20 February 2021 and has 15 parties, including least developed and landlocked developing countries. Its experience offers practical lessons for regional cooperation on digital trade.[iii]
Against this background, closer regional dialogue on digital trade and AI is needed. Economies that are not party to the main digital trade agreements, in particular, have had limited opportunities to discuss their priorities, the support they require, and the forms of regional cooperation that would best serve their development objectives. The workshop will provide a platform for this dialogue. It will draw on ESCAP analytical work on digital trade regulation and regional trade agreements, including the draft Asia-Pacific Model Digital Economy Agreement (AP-MDEA) reference tool, which sets out the policy options used in existing agreements for each area of digital trade. The views expressed will inform further regional cooperation among member States.
ESCAP and ADB (2026). Asia-Pacific Trade Facilitation Report 2026: Harnessing Artificial Intelligence in Trade Facilitation. Bangkok and Manila.
ESCAP and ASEAN (2026). Digital Trade Regulatory Review for ASEAN, 2025, p. 12. Available at https://repository.unescap.org/items/e645b273-ec2c-4380-842b-904e18d6898f.
ESCAP (2025). Digital Trade Regulatory Review for South and South-West Asia, 2025, p. 4. Available at https://repository.unescap.org/bitstreams/c58e83e0-8692-40cb-a494-96cef0f6fae4/download.
ESCAP resolution 80/1, Leveraging digital innovation for sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific, 26 April 2024 (E/ESCAP/RES/80/1).
ESCAP resolution 72/4, Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific, 19 May 2016 (E/ESCAP/RES/72/4).
ESCAP resolution 68/3, Enabling paperless trade and the cross-border recognition of electronic data and documents for inclusive and sustainable intraregional trade facilitation, 23 May 2012.
ESCAP. Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific. Available at https://www.unescap.org/kp/cpta.
Tentative programme
for more information, please contact
Trade, Investment and Innovation Division +66 2 288-1234 [email protected]