Strengthening Cross-Border Trade Facilitation in the Mekong-Lancang Subregion: Navigating through Geopolitics of Supply Chain

Global trade and economic architecture have been in predictable motion for decades, where decisions were premised largely on economic reasoning. However, this may no longer happen because geopolitical implications will increasingly colour economic decisions in unpredictable ways. As a result, the long-standing “off-shoring” rhetoric is being replaced by the “re-shoring” or “ally-and-friend-shoring” practice. Therefore, Mekong-Lancang countries should consider coherent policies and measures to streamline cross-border trade facilitation and mitigate supply chain shocks to enhance resilience and sustainability in critical sectors intersecting with the supply side.