**Introduction** The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) can strengthen its resilience to US trade pressure — even when members negotiate separately — by coordinating basic negotiating positions, using ASEAN-US forums to extend shared outcomes, strengthening trade within the region to reduce external dependence, and preparing collective responses that help governments and firms adjust when external pressure intensifies[1][2][3]. **Regional approaches to strengthen resilience** **1.** **Strengthen coordination among national negotiations** * **Common minimum positions:** ASEAN members can agree on baseline approaches for recurring issues such as customs procedures, product standards, services, and digital trade. This helps prevent bilateral negotiations from creating competitive pressures among members that weaken ASEAN’s collective position[4]. * **Transparency among members:** Regular information sharing on planned and concluded bilateral commitments helps ensure that outcomes remain consistent with ASEAN cooperation and do not introduce unnecessary differences within the regional market[5]. * **Shared analytical support:** Pooling legal and economic expertise across ASEAN supports smaller administrations in managing negotiations and helps reduce uneven outcomes across member states[6]. **2.** **Use ASEAN-US forums to extend shared outcomes** * **Use ASEAN-US cooperation frameworks:** Even when negotiations are conducted bilaterally, cross-cutting issues — such as customs cooperation, regulatory practices, or support for small and medium-sized enterprises — can be addressed through ASEAN-US mechanisms so that outcomes can be applied more broadly across the region[1][2]. * **Promote convergence in implementation practices:** Greater convergence in administrative practices reduces costs for firms operating in multiple ASEAN markets and limits the complexity created by overlapping bilateral commitments[2][7]. * **Prioritize predictability and transparency:** Measures that strengthen transparency, consistency, and advance notice provide more durable benefits than narrowly focused market-access concessions that may be revised or withdrawn[8][9]. **3.** **Reduce external exposure by strengthening the ASEAN market** * **Deepen intra-ASEAN trade:** Faster progress in simplifying procedures and reducing internal trade barriers expands regional trade opportunities and reduces the impact of external trade pressure[5]. * **Advance regional cooperation in the digital economy:** Completing and implementing the Digital Economy Framework Agreement supports cross-border digital trade and services and helps limit regulatory divergence across ASEAN[10][11]. * **Strengthen coordination in responding to external trade measures:** Shared monitoring of trade measures, regular information exchange, and support for affected sectors enable ASEAN members to respond more quickly and consistently when external pressure arises[9][12]. * **Support firm-level diversification:** Assisting firms to diversify export markets and sourcing reduces reliance on individual partners and lowers exposure to sudden policy changes[8][13]. **Conclusion** ASEAN’s resilience when members negotiate separately with the United States depends less on negotiating as a single legal entity and more on maintaining regional coherence. Aligning national negotiating positions, making systematic use of ASEAN-US cooperation frameworks, strengthening intra-ASEAN trade and digital cooperation, and improving coordination in responding to external trade measures can reduce fragmentation and limit the impact of external pressure on individual member states.
