UKABC’s Digital Conversation Series

Overview

Trade expert Dr Deborah Elms, based in Singapore, will provide an analysis of the economic disruption in Southeast Asia caused by coronavirus. Looking ahead, the discussion will also focus on the UK-ASEAN trading relationship and the opportunities and challenges as the UK leaves the EU.

The Asian Development Bank has slashed Southeast Asia’s economic growth forecast to just 1 percent for 2020. The ASEAN Member States, different in size and economic development, will all bounce back but with differing abilities and shifts in trading patterns and altered consumer behaviour.

UK-ASEAN trade was valued at £38 billion in 2019 with significant potential for growth given the future of ASEAN’s growth trajectory. The UK has a long history of engagement and friendship with the region, however, without a formal relationship with ASEAN, what does the future of UK-ASEAN trade look like in a post coronavirus world?

Areas of discussion

• What is the economic impact of the coronavirus on the economies of Southeast Asia?
• International trade and supply chains have been disrupted, borders closed and an increase in ‘export nationalism’. Is this the new norm?
• As the UK develops its trade policy strategy ASEAN, as a region, will be a key pillar. What could the UK-ASEAN trading relationship look like?

This event is for UKABC partners and invited guests.

Dr Deborah Elms – biography

Dr Deborah Elms is the Founder and Executive Director of the Asian Trade Centre. The Asian Trade Centre works with governments and companies to design better trade policies for the region. Dr Elms is also Vice-Chair of the Asia Business Trade Association (ABTA) and sits on the International Technical Advisory Committee of the Global Trade Professionals Alliance and is Chair of the Working Group on Trade Policy and Law.

She is also a senior fellow in the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry’s Trade Academy. Previously, Dr Elms was head of the Temasek Foundation Centre for Trade & Negotiations (TFCTN) and Senior Fellow of International Political Economy at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Her projects include the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and global value chains.

Dr Elms received a PhD in political science from the University of Washington, a MA in international relations from the University of Southern California, and bachelor’s degrees from Boston University. Dr Elms publishes the Talking Trade Blog.

Further Reading

• Channel News Asia interviews Deborah Elms, Asian Trade Centre
• Economic Impact of COVID-19 Outbreak on ASEAN. ASEAN Secretariat
• ASEAN’s cooperation to combat COVID-19: Strength in unity. Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh
• Re-Examining the UK’s Priorities in the Asia-Pacific Region. RUSI
• ‘After Brexit, Britain’s future engagement in Southeast Asia is far from certain’. London School of Economics
• Britain looks to ASEAN post – Brexit. Straits Times