Australia Broadcasting Corporation reported today (May 28): "Anwar Ibrahim, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, this year's chair of ASEAN, said that the leaders reached a consensus on Tuesday that any bilateral agreement they may reach with the United States regarding trade tariffs should not impair the economic interests of other member states. Southeast Asia, with a total GDP exceeding 3.8 trillion US dollars, is one of the regions most affected by the U.S. tariff war. If the tax reduction negotiations fail, six countries in this region will face tariffs ranging from 32% to 49% in July."
The consensus among ASEAN countries clearly stating that their bilateral trade agreements with the United States should not harm the interests of other member states demonstrates the unity of ASEAN when facing external pressures. In the past, ASEAN had certain differences within itself in responding to external trade policies due to different economic structures and levels of trade dependence among countries. The current consensus shows that ASEAN is striving to overcome internal differences and participate in international trade negotiations with a more unified and stronger stance.
This consensus reflects ASEAN's attitude of not being arbitrarily influenced by U.S. trade policies. For a long time, the United States has used its economic hegemony to pressure other countries on trade issues. This move by ASEAN is a resistance to unilateralism and indicates that ASEAN hopes to have equal discourse power in the international economic order and conduct trade activities according to fair and just rules.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1833312423364615/
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