Southeast Asian leaders called out US President Donald Trump’s tariff plans as causing uncertainties in commerce with their region’s largest export customer and underscoring an “urgency of diversifying trade beyond traditional markets”.
“We express deep concern over the recent announcement by the United States to impose unilateral tariffs and their potential impact on our economies,” the leaders said, according to a statement by the chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations released Tuesday night.
The leaders met this week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for a summit that included high-profile delegations from China and the Gulf States.
“The uncertainties arising from these tariffs and potential retaliation could heighten volatility in both capital flows and exchange rates,” the statement said, adding that Asean would “continue to engage in a frank and constructive dialogue with the US, and commit not to impose any retaliatory measures in response to US tariffs”.
Asean members Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia are all in the top 20 list for US bilateral trade deficits, and Trump threatened them last month with tariff rates ranging from 24% to 49%. Those levies are on pause for now pending talks, with a universal baseline rate of 10% currently in effect.
Trump also slapped China, a key trading partner for Asean members, with tariffs well in excess of 100% before those too were paused. A challenge for US trade officials has been avoiding Chinese goods being channelled through third nations, such as in Southeast Asia, to avoid hefty tariffs when shipped to the US.
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“Unilateral and retaliatory trade actions are counterproductive and risk exacerbating global economic fragmentation, especially when these actions create indirect impacts on Asean,” reads a separate Asean leaders’ statement published Tuesday evening.
Southeast Asian leaders also offered a veiled expression of concern about their markets getting flooded by Chinese goods that were originally destined for export to the US.
“We instruct relevant officials to monitor the potential risk of trade diversion,” the leaders said, adding they want to engage with partners through established platforms for a constructive solution.
