ASEAN SUPPLY CHAIN COUNCIL TO ADVANCE 2026 PRIVATE SECTOR RECOMMENDATIONS ON DIGITAL TRADE, TRACEABILITY AND REGULATORY ALIGNMENT

Kuala Lumpur, January 24, 2026 — The ASEAN Supply Chain Council (ASCC) convened on January 23, 2026, bringing together 56 representatives from the ASEAN Business Advisory Council, the ASEAN Manufacturing Network (AMN), ASEAN sectoral business associations and partner organisations. The meeting was chaired by Tan Sri Dato’ (Dr) Soh Thian Lai, Chairman of AMN and President Emeritus of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturing (FMM).

The Council reaffirmed that ASEAN’s ability to compete and attract investment will increasingly depend on how well the region functions as an integrated production and trade ecosystem. As supply chains face higher volatility, rising compliance demands and tighter delivery expectations ASEAN must reduce cost, time and regulatory frictions that continue to hinder cross border trade and weaken regional value chain linkages.

The meeting reviewed the state of regional integration in 2 priority sectors identified for 2026, namely food and beverages and semiconductors. In the food and beverage sector, intra-ASEAN trade remains limited, with only 23 to 24 percent of ASEAN food trade occurring within the region. This underlines the need to accelerate practical reforms that make it easier for businesses, especially MSMEs to scale across ASEAN markets. In the semiconductor sector, discussions focused on strengthening resilience across high value and time sensitive supply chains including improving border predictability, reducing operational disruptions and supporting talent mobility to sustain ASEAN’s role in critical global production networks.

The meeting also highlighted that supply chain competitiveness and investment attraction are tightly linked. Recent regional data shared by UNESCAP during the meeting showed that greenfield FDI inflows into ASEAN declined by 17 percent, from US$89.5 billion in 2024 (Q1 to Q3) to US$74.4 billion in 2025 (Q1 to Q3). Despite this, ASEAN continued to capture 29 percent of greenfield FDI announcements in Asia Pacific and received US$39.8 billion in intraregional greenfield investment pledges, representing 36 percent of the total. The message was clear that ASEAN remains highly investable, but investor confidence will depend on stronger policy coordination and more consistent implementation across the ASEAN Member States.

Against this backdrop, the Council aligned on priority action areas where the private sector will bring practical and implementable recommendations to ASEAN governments in 2026.

Key private sector recommendations for 2026

1. Accelerate ASEAN wide e-certification and digital Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) interoperability - ASEAN should strengthen interoperability across national e-certification and SPS systems, including agreement on a minimum SPS dataset for ASEAN Single Window exchange. This will reduce duplication, shorten processing time, and improve predictability for trade.

2. Roll out end-to-end track and trace programmes based on common data standards - The Council called for regionally aligned traceability programmes that support compliance, product integrity and consumer trust. Priority actions include strengthening end-to-end traceability so products can be tracked by production batch from source to consumer, enabling QR supported information sharing where appropriate, and improving data interoperability across the supply chain.

3. Enable trusted cross border data flows for modern trade - Cross border data flows must be treated as trade infrastructure. The Council will propose measures to strengthen inter-agency data exchange, interoperability and trusted governance frameworks to unlock the full benefits of digital trade facilitation.

4.  Reduce standards and certification complexity through targeted convergence -The private sector will support practical convergence in selected areas including core food safety information and labelling requirements. This will reduce recurring compliance costs without requiring full harmonisation, particularly benefiting MSMEs expanding across ASEAN.

5. Strengthen border efficiency for time sensitive and high value supply chains ASEAN should accelerate risk based clearance models, expand pre-arrival processing and scale trusted trader arrangements including Authorised Economic Operator mutual recognition. Faster and more predictable border release is essential for advanced manufacturing supply chains including semiconductors where small delays can cause major disruption.

6. Improve talent mobility for critical technical roles in strategic industries The Council discussed targeted measures to support short term movement of technical specialists needed for equipment calibration, production support, and skills transfer. A proposed pathway includes piloting an ASEAN Semiconductor Visa or an equivalent fast track lane under ASEAN business mobility arrangements.

In 2026, the Council will consolidate private sector priorities into a structured set of recommendations to ASEAN Economic Ministers and ASEAN Leaders through the ASEAN Business Advisory Council, focused on cross cutting measures that strengthen regional supply chain performance. This includes accelerating digital trade facilitation, improving supply chain visibility and enabling trusted cross border data exchange to reduce friction and strengthen ASEAN’s competitiveness for trade, production and investment.

Tan Sri Dato’ (Dr) Soh Thian Lai
Chairman, ASEAN Manufacturing Network
President Emeritus, Federation of Malaysian Manufacturing

FMM Advocates Transparency, Integrity, Accountability and No Corruption

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About ASEAN Supply Chain Council (ASCC)

The ASEAN Supply Chain Council is a private sector led platform jointly chaired by the ASEAN Business Advisory Council and AMN. It aims to strengthen ASEAN supply chain resilience and efficiency through regional coordination, public private dialogue, and actionable policy inputs for consideration by ASEAN institutions and governments.

About ASEAN Manufacturing Network (AMN)
AMN is a regional platform comprising manufacturing and industry associations from across ASEAN. It supports closer regional cooperation among manufacturers, with a focus on strengthening supply chain resilience, improving cross border efficiency, and advancing private sector driven policy recommendations.

About FMM
The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturing (FMM) (formerly known as Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers) has been the voice of the Malaysian manufacturing sector since 1968, advocating policies and initiatives that drive industrial growth, competitiveness and workforce development. Representing over 13,300 member companies (4,200 direct and 9,100 indirect) from the manufacturing supply chain, FMM is actively engaged with government and its key agencies at Federal, State and local levels. FMM is also well-linked with international organisations, Malaysian businesses and civil society. Apart from benefitting from FMM’s advocacy, FMM members enjoy value-added services including training, business networking and trade opportunities as well as regular information updates.

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