Bolstering East Asian-Latin American value chains through digitally deliverable services

Digitally deliverable services play a growing role in export-driven production in the FEALAC region, but digitally deliverable services from Latin America are used only to a limited extent by producers in Asia, and vice versa. However, this disguises the fast growth in Latin American-Asian digitally deliverable services trade in the past 15 years. Asian manufacturing, agricultural and services exporters have significantly expanded their sourcing from providers in Costa Rica, Chile and Colombia, while Latin American producers have increased sourcing from China, the Philippines and Japan. There are some "hidden complementarities" in digitally deliverable services between Latin America and Asia. The Latin American manufacturing, mining and services sectors are drawing on sophisticated IT services and services using disruptive technologies such as blockchain and AI from Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and the Philippines, while Latin American manufacturers and agricultural firms are increasingly using Chinese financial services. The Chinese manufacturing sector is using Brazilian suppliers, and companies in Singapore, China, the Republic of Korea and Japan look to Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica and Colombia for emerging digitally deliverable services such as gaming, animation and e-commerce. The agricultural sector in Thailand and Viet Nam leverage Brazilian digitally deliverable services, potentially Agtech applications.