Quantitative assessment reveals trade facilitation enhances maritime commerce in ASEAN countries, suggesting governance improvements are critical.
Key Points
Trade facilitation reforms significantly boost maritime commerce by reducing costs and delays, and with stronger effects on extraregional trade.
The analysis reveals that effective governance and transparency are key drivers of enhanced trade in ASEAN's ocean-linked goods network.
Persistent barriers, like geographical distance and policy shocks, counteracted the positive trends observed during the study period from 2017 to 2022.
Targeted trade facilitation strategies are essential for ASEAN to improve supply chain resilience and maximize its maritime economic potential.