Malaysia urges ASEAN to strengthen unity and unify against US tariffs

Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan stated on Sunday that Southeast Asian countries must diversify their markets, speed up regional economic integration, and remain unified in the face of global trade disruptions brought on by massive U.S. tariff hikes.

In addition to reiterating the bloc’s call for the warring parties in Myanmar to halt hostilities in the deadly civil war that has killed thousands and displaced millions of people since a military takeover of the government in 2021, Mohamad opened a meeting of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

“Among the countries most severely impacted by the tariffs imposed by the United States are ASEAN nations.” Global manufacturing and trade patterns are being severely disrupted by the U.S.-China trade war. There will probably be a global economic slump, Mohamad stated. “To better protect the region from external shocks, we must take advantage of this opportunity to deepen regional economic integration.”

President Trump’s administration has levied 10%–49% tariffs on ASEAN nations, many of which depend on exports to the United States. With tariffs ranging from 32% to 49%, six of the association’s ten member countries were among the most severely affected. According to trade officials, the new tariffs probably have an impact on ASEAN’s 4.7% growth objective for this year.