The United States announced retaliatory tariffs on all global trading partners, making Southeast Asian countries, which have taken over the transferred manufacturing from China, the worst-hit areas.

While ASEAN assumes its rotating presidency and jointly assesses the impact of Washington's tariff barriers with other member states, Vietnam has taken the lead by proposing negotiations to the U.S. to reduce American goods tariffs to zero, while Cambodia has lowered the U.S. goods tariff to 5%.

Southeast Asian scholars suggest that the competition between China and the U.S. benefits enterprises in Southeast Asia, but the rising tide of protectionism brings uncertainty to the region's development. Under the heavy-handed tariffs imposed by Washington, neutral Southeast Asian countries should consider uniting to negotiate with the U.S.

On Wednesday, April 2nd, U.S. President Trump announced retaliatory tariffs (reciprocal tariffs) on more than 100 trade partners, including Southeast Asian countries. Despite ASEAN's intention to remain neutral and not take sides in the Sino-American competition, Southeastern countries with significant trade surpluses with the U.S. still face huge impacts. The countries targeted by the U.S. for retaliatory tariffs include: Cambodia (49%), Laos (48%), Vietnam (46%), Myanmar (44%), Thailand (36%), Malaysia (24%).

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim convened an emergency meeting on Friday, April 4th, to discuss issues related to the 24% retaliatory tariff imposed by the U.S. on Malaysia. As the rotating chair of ASEAN, he contacted regional partners such as Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and others, planning to hold an ASEAN Trade Ministers' Meeting on the 10th of this month to evaluate the impact of the tariffs and discuss regional response strategies.

U.S. President Trump disclosed through the social media platform "Truth Social" on Friday that he had discussed reducing tariffs with Vietnamese leaders. Shortly thereafter, the Vietnamese government website announced that the Vietnamese leader called the White House late at night, suggesting a reduction of tariffs on U.S. goods to zero and promising future purchases of Boeing aircraft and more American agricultural products.

Trump was the first to disclose the Vietnamese leader's move. Commentators believe that Trump's original intention in imposing tariffs was to use these policies against various countries worldwide as bargaining chips to reshape international trade rules favorable to the U.S.

Cambodia's Khmer Times reported that Trump imposed a 49% tariff on Cambodian goods, one of the highest tariffs in the world. On Friday, April 4th, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet posted a picture of a letter to President Trump on social media, indicating willingness to negotiate the tariffs scheduled to take effect on April 9, 2025. To show sincerity, Cambodia immediately reduced the import tax on 19 categories of American goods from 35% to 5%. Hun Manet emphasized that Cambodia fully values constructive and effective negotiations with the U.S. government to promote bilateral trade, which will bring tangible benefits to the people of both countries.

After the U.S. imposed a 10% baseline tariff on Indonesian goods, it plans to impose up to 32% retaliatory tariffs. The rubber, tire, and palm oil industries in Indonesia are bound to suffer major impacts. Moreover, with the ambassador position vacant for nearly two years, Indonesia is not convenient to open negotiations with the U.S. The Indonesian Foreign Ministry stated that Indonesia continues to communicate with the U.S. and will send a high-level delegation to the U.S. for negotiations as soon as possible.

Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao website disclosed that on Saturday, April 5th, U.S. Customs officials began collecting the 10% baseline tariff required by Trump for many countries and regions. This measure took effect at U.S. ports, airports, and customs warehouses, marking the complete withdrawal by Trump of the bilateral tariff rate system agreed upon after World War II.

Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong expressed on the 6th today, at a public event, that President Trump's retaliatory tariff measures have far-reaching implications. He urged citizens to work together with the government to address future challenges. Previously, when accepting media interviews, Lee Hsien Loong frankly admitted that historical lessons tell us that after the global comprehensive trade war erupted in the 1930s, World War II followed closely thereafter.

In response to the U.S. tariff increase, Singaporean Prime Minister Wong Chun Ying announced no retaliatory tariffs would be implemented and will strengthen partnerships with like-minded nations. Earlier, Wong Chun Ying warned the public about the negative effects of Trump's tariffs. Although Singapore’s 10% tax rate is the lowest among ASEAN members, if other countries follow suit and impose tariff barriers, the problems that may arise in the future will undoubtedly severely impact small countries like Singapore that rely heavily on import and export trade. This not only goes against global economic trends but also poses risks to the U.S. itself. The video of Singaporean Prime Minister's speech about how America's tariff measures will completely change the world, translated into multiple languages, has been widely spread among the civilian population in Southeast Asian countries.

Thailand, one of the countries with the highest trade deficits with the U.S., faces a heavy tax pressure of 36%. To seek survival amidst the escalating trade war, Thailand is seeking new development opportunities. The closing of the sixth Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit on Thursday, April 4th, aims to create new markets and investment opportunities and enhance economic connectivity through efficient transportation and logistics networks. The heads of state of Thailand, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka held consultations and signed agreements in multiple fields. These seven member states cover a population of more than 1.8 billion, and the future is seen as a highly potential cultural, tourism, and economic market.

Bangladesh and Thailand similarly face Trump's high tariffs of 37%. In response, Mohammad Yunus, Chief Advisor of the Bangladeshi interim government attending the BIMSTEC summit in Bangkok, believes that what is happening now is merely the beginning of negotiations with the U.S., and it is premature to draw conclusions hastily.

Taweesuksa, a Thai international financial commentator, believes that a financial trade war with fierce competition will occur over the next three years, advising the public to be cautious and save money prudently. Trump initiated the trade war to renegotiate trade rules to achieve the return of manufacturing. While the U.S. dominates global exports and again unleashes powerful goals, too many reasons make this goal difficult to achieve. Meanwhile, as early as 2013, when China launched the "Belt and Road Initiative" to connect Asia, Africa, South America, and strengthen interconnectivity with the Indian Ocean coast, the Mediterranean coast, and the Atlantic region, a non-U.S.-dominated international trade system was gradually taking shape. If Thailand's leaders cannot solve macroeconomic problems caused by the trade war from the perspective of regional participants, Thailand may miss the opportunity to showcase itself on the world stage.

Malaysia will assume the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN in 2025. The Anwar administration has formulated a national semiconductor strategy and established an artificial intelligence office specifically to attract foreign investment and technical assistance to diversify the supply chains of Malaysian enterprises.

Source: rfi

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7490258823630864930/

Disclaimer: This article solely represents the author's views. Please express your attitude by clicking the 'thumbs up/thumbs down' button below.