“I am telling you, these countries are calling us up, kissing my a$$.” —Donald Trump
Economic and finance ministers as well as central bank governors of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations will discuss today a possible unified response to the sweeping US tariffs that took effect Wednesday, Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque said.
“We will be meeting with trade ministers all over Southeast Asia and ASEAN. We will discuss what the stand of each nation is…Let’s see what we can agree on there and see what we can do to be able to work hand in hand as ASEAN,” Roque said on the sidelines of yesterday’s National Food Fair.
While the Philippines currently benefits from a lower tariff rate of 17 percent, Roque underscored the need for a collective ASEAN approach.
“We all work together as ASEAN,” she said. “We haven’t gone as far as determining what concessions will be on the table. We just want to listen to what they want to tell us.”
The meeting will be held in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, chairman of ASEAN for 2025, but Roque will join her counterparts virtually.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met with his economic managers Tuesday evening ahead of the ASEAN dialog, Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederic Go said.
ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn, during an investment conference Wednesday, said the regional bloc must “act boldly” to accelerate regional economic integration as US tariffs left much of the world caught in the middle of a devastating trade war.
ASEAN countries, which count on the United States as their main export market, were among those slapped with the toughest levies by President Donald Trump.
“To remain relevant and resilient in a world where economic chaos is fast becoming the new normal, we must act boldly, decisively, and together to reaffirm ASEAN’s commitment to a stable, predictable, and business-friendly environment,” Kao said.
ASEAN governments have chosen not to retaliate against Washington, preferring dialog.
But their export-oriented economies risk being hurt by a global trade war after China—another key market—imposed its own tariffs on the United States.
“Without urgent and collective action to accelerate intra-ASEAN economic integration and diversify our markets and partnerships, we risk ceding our place in a fractured and fast-evolving global economy,” Kao said.
Manufacturing powerhouse and ASEAN member Vietnam was hit with a 46 percent tariff on exports to the United States, while neighboring Cambodia—a major producer of low-cost clothing for big Western brands—was slapped with a 49 percent duty.
Other ASEAN nations hit with hefty tariffs are Laos (48 percent), Myanmar (44 percent), Thailand (36 percent), Indonesia (32 percent).
Malaysia, Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy, was hit with a lower tariff of 24 percent.
Brunei also faces a 24 percent tariff while Singapore was hit with 10 percent.
The bloc has a combined population of more than 650 million but its members are at different stages of economic development, ranging from poorer countries like Laos and Cambodia to rich ones like financial center Singapore. With AFP
