Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Asia

#India Week came and went in the blink of an eye! Late last week, Assistant Secretary for Global Markets and Director General of the U.S. Commercial Service Arun Venkataraman was joined by Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia Pamela Phan for a meeting with Embassy of India colleagues. Building off the momentum of a series of major, VIP engagements from September 30 through October 3, they took stock of recent U.S.-India announcements and charted out next steps to advance the bilateral commercial relationship. For a recap of U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo’s key engagements during India Week, see the Department’s: Readout from the Secretary’s meeting with Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar of the Ministry of External Affairs, India, at https://lnkd.in/eRckRVEB Press Release from the U.S.-India CEO Forum meeting co-hosted by the Secretary and Minister Piyush Goyal from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, at https://lnkd.in/e42tFKMv Press Release from the U.S.-India Commercial Dialogue meeting co-hosted by the Secretary and the Minister, at https://lnkd.in/evRSMAFg Since the meeting between the two countries’ leaders earlier in September, the two sides have continued their ambitious agenda for strengthening #supplychainresilience, accelerating the #cleanenergytransition, and further growing bilateral #trade and #investment, especially in #criticalandemergingtechnology. Follow the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Asia to keep up to date on what lies ahead. Photo Credit: Secretary Raimondo's official X account and the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Commerce for Asia

Congratulations to the U.S.-Indonesia Society (USINDO) on its 30th anniversary! For the past 30 years, USINDO has committed to increasing understanding of #Indonesia and the United States, including by facilitating engagement between Indonesian and U.S. Government officials. Last month, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and Director General of the U.S. Commercial Service, Arun Venkataraman, joined USINDO for a gala celebrating the dual milestones of USINDO at 30 years and U.S.-Indonesian relations at 75 years. The U.S. Department of Commerce is proud to play a key role not only in increasing understanding between the United States and Indonesia, but also in strengthening our economies. The Assistant Secretary highlighted the work of the International Trade Administration, including to help Indonesia meet its #cleanenergy goals, undergo a #digitaltransformation, and develop its new capital city, #Nusantara. In November, Commerce’s Under Secretary for #InternationalTrade Marisa Lago will be delivering on these plans by leading a robust delegation of U.S. companies to Indonesia for the Innovative Technologies for #UrbanInfrastructure Development Mission (learn more here: https://lnkd.in/ewPJmufq). The future looks bright! Follow along on this page and U.S. Commercial Service Indonesia to keep up with developments on the horizon.

#DYK that #Vietnam is the United States’ largest trading partner amongst all #SoutheastAsian countries? #Digitaltrade is one of the key drivers of our bilateral commercial ties, and the U.S. Department of Commerce is one of the leading U.S. government agencies working to promote safe and secure #digitaltrade. Last month, the International Trade Administration (#ITA), National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and USPTO met with visitors from the Ministry of Industry and Trade Vietnam as part of USAID’s Vietnam Digital Trade Activity Study Tour. The meeting included discussion of the Department’s work in #dataprotection, #dataprivacy, #artificialintelligence, #cybersecurity, #OpenRAN, #5G, and #intellectualpropertyprotection and allowed Department experts to share their experiences with the digital trade ecosystem. Ruth Soberanes, our Vietnam expert, joined the group for a robust exchange of views that will help inform her upcoming travels to #Hanoi and #HoChiMinhCity later this month. The #digitaleconomy promises to be a driver of economic growth in Vietnam and presents significant opportunities for U.S. companies interested in the Vietnam market. Stay tuned for more from Ruth once she hits the road!

#DYK that #Cambodia is one of the fastest growing economies in the world? A new fiscal year has begun for the U.S. Government, and we are more ready than ever to work with our partners in #SoutheastAsia! On September 30, the International Trade Administration’s (#ITA) Southeast Asia Director Ian Clements and #Cambodia Desk Officer Hong-Phong Pho participated in a luncheon hosted by the US-ASEAN Business Council to welcome Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister Chanthol Sun and his business delegation to Washington, DC. The delegation included the Ministry of Mines and Energy Secretary of State Sok Khavan, the Ministry of Commerce (Cambodia) Secretary of State Boun Sarakmony, the President of The American Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia Association (AmCham) Casey Barnett, and other Cambodian business leaders. The next day, Deputy Prime Minister Sun presented on Cambodia’s business climate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). According to the Deputy Prime Minister, Cambodia is one of the fastest growing economies (5.8% per annum expected for 2024), with a young and trainable work force (60% under 35), and offers one of the most liberal investment regimes in the world. Currently, the United States is Cambodia’s largest export market, and garments are its highest paying and highest earning export. In the future, Cambodia has ambitions to attract higher value production from the United States in #aviation, #electronics, #energy, #infrastructure, and other sectors. The Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Asia’s Southeast Asia experts discussed exports and foreign direct investments (#FDI) with important stakeholders, including AmCham Cambodia. Southeast Asian nations continue to strive for more, and ITA is ready to connect businesses to these exciting opportunities.  

Sawasdee, or hello, from our U.S. Commercial Service (CS) #Thailand team to the fall season, a time of new beginnings. Last month, the team came together for an offsite just outside of #Bangkok, where they looked ahead to the new fiscal year and reflected on how to best to mobilize resources in support U.S. commercial relationships across #SoutheastAsia. The Bangkok-based CS team was joined by Emma Santini, who covers the Thailand portfolio for the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Asia, as well as colleagues from CS #Burma and our State Department managed Partner Post in #Cambodia. In addition to engaging in important #policy discussions and #planning sessions, the team also had the opportunity to tour the #manufacturing facilities of an American business and learn more about the positive impact the company’s operations has on the community and economy at large. There, they also gained insights into how and why hard drives and similar technologies are produced in Thailand. Our work on the ground is driven by the mission of ensuring that U.S. businesses can thrive in foreign markets. We look forward to seeing all that our Bangkok team will achieve over the coming year! If you’re interested in Thailand’s market, click here to learn more: https://lnkd.in/edwrYCeq

It’s been 10 days since the #Quad Leaders Summit brought leaders from #Australia, #India, and #Japan to Wilmington, Delaware, where they affirmed that “The Quad is here to stay.” Among other announcements made in the Wilmington Declaration Joint Statement, the four leaders welcomed a first-ever Quad #Commerce and #Industry Ministerial to be led on the U.S. side by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Together, our four countries represent nearly two billion people and over one-third of global GDP. Our ability to align on priorities and mobilize our respective private sectors will be critical to supporting the region’s sustainable development, stability, and prosperity in the years ahead. Supported by the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Asia, the Department is prioritizing senior leadership engagement with each of our Quad partners, including through our recent Economic 2+2 vice-ministerial meeting with Japan, this week’s U.S.-India #CEOForum and U.S.-India #CommercialDialogue ministerial meeting, and the upcoming visit by International Trade Administration Deputy Under Secretary for #InternationalTrade Diane Farrell to Australia. Stay tuned for more updates on these engagements throughout the week! See the full text of the Wilmington Declaration here: https://lnkd.in/gpe8DaEr Photo credit: Official White House X Feed

This is not a “Goodbye,” but a “See you soon” post. A heartfelt thank you from the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Asia to our outgoing Executive Director (ED), Aileen Nandi, for the lasting impact you have had over the past two years. And a warm welcome to Tammy Murrietta, who now transitions from her role as Acting Director for #SouthAsia to become our new ED. The ED plays a critical role as #ChiefOperationsOfficer, with oversight over budget, personnel, and other resources management, both at headquarters and in the field. A strong ED ensures that the organization runs smoothly, advancing our #strategicvision, meeting our #performancemetrics, and putting our #peoplefirst along the way. Last week was bookended by two celebrations in honor of these two strong leaders: bowling at the White House just for our team and happy hour down the block for a larger group. As Tammy embraces the ED role and Aileen takes over as our new, Regional Senior Commercial Officer for #ASEAN based at the U.S. Commercial Service Singapore, it’s clear that both are ready to #gettheballrolling. And with the start of a new fiscal year and the next ASEAN Summit approaching, there’s really #notamomenttospare. (See what we did there? #bowlingpuns)

Small and Medium Enterprises (#SMEs) serve as the backbone of #Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (#APEC), with 97% of businesses across APEC economies identifying as SMEs. #ICYMI: International Trade Administration (#ITA) Deputy Under Secretary (DUS) Diane Farrell is fresh from her trip to #Peru, where she represented the United States at the APEC Perú 2024 SME Ministerial Meeting (#SMEMM) in #Pucallpa and the Business Ethics for APEC SMEs Initiative in #Lima. During the SMEMM, DUS Farrell spoke about how the Business Ethics for APEC SMEs Initiative mitigates corruption risks and supports a level playing field for SMEs. In addition, she highlighted the United States’ ongoing work to support #womenseconomicempowerment through enhancing their participation in #crossborder #ecommerce and their access to #globalvaluechains. Making sure SMEs are represented on an international stage makes a huge difference in creating greater #opportunity and #economicgrowth. It will continue to be a top priority for ITA, as we look ahead to #SouthKorea’s APEC Host Year in 2025. Photo credit: APEC Peru Flickr and Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Asia

Earlier this month, the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Asia had the opportunity to attend the third #INDUSXSummit, which took place in #SiliconValley, the global center for #hightechnology #innovation. Launched in June 2023 by the United States Department of Defense and Ministry of Defence of India, this year’s #INDUSX was convened at Stanford University and supported by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum under the theme, “Harnessing investment opportunities to enhance cross-border defense innovation ecosystems.” A key aim of the Summit was to link American and Indian leaders from #startups, #venturecapital, #academia, and industry to explore and accelerate opportunities for co-production and investments in #defenseinnovation. While in the Silicon Valley and across the Bay, at the University of California, Berkeley, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia Pamela Phan met with thought leaders in #technology, #innovation, and #startupincubation to discuss U.S. Department of Commerce efforts under the “#InnovationHandshake.” Launched under the U.S.-#India #CommercialDialogue, this initiative advances the two countries’ shared vision of connecting the world’s #1 and #3 #startupecosystems to promote further innovation and #jobgrowth, especially in priority sectors identified under the U.S-India initiative on #CriticalandEmergingTechnology ( #iCET). 

Last week, the International Trade Administration (#ITA) convened the inaugural #SupplyChainSummit and the first in-person meetings of the #SupplyChain Council and #CrisisResponse Network, both led by Assistant Secretary for Industry and Analysis, Grant Harris. Kudos to ITA’s Supply Chain Center for the hard work you put into conceptualizing and executing these critical engagements with our #IndoPacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (#IPEF) partners from across the region. President Biden’s letter on the significance of these convenings says it best: https://lnkd.in/dzRP2tpx.