Lopez: Asean trade ministers ink e-commerce deal

Trade leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) signed an agreement to boost trans-border electronic commerce transactions in the region.

The Asean Agreement on Electronic Commerce was signed on Monday, a day before the official opening ceremony of the 33rd Asean Summit and Related Summits in Singapore, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said in a press briefing on Tuesday.

The ASEAN Economic Ministers signed the ASEAN Agreement on E-Commerce at the 33rd ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in…

Posted by DTI Secretary Ramon M. Lopez on Monday, November 12, 2018

Lopez said the agreement will facilitate cross-border e-commerce transactions and create an environment of trust for online transactions.

The agreement “institutes rules that govern e-commerce that talks about cooperation in the field of information and communication technology, infrastructure, education technology competency, online consumer protection, e-commerce legal framework, electronic transaction security, eletcronic payment, competition, cybersecurity, and logistics to facilitate e-commerce,” Lopez noted.

The discussions for the agreement started last year during the Asean hosting of the Philippines and was concluded last July 2018, Lopez added.  /muf