US trade policies causing anxiety to Asian economic tigers

Trade surplus: A file picture showing a ship being unloaded at New Priok Container Terminal One in Indonesia. Indonesia notched up a trade surplus of US8.8bil last year. – Reuters

JAKARTA: US President Donald Trump’s trade policies could dash the hopes of emerging Asian economies seeking to emulate China’s early development, according to former Indonesian finance minister Chatib Basri.

Signs that Trump is embarking on an era of American protectionism – heightened after he nixed the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership pact and by his threats to start a trade war with China – are causing anxiety across South-East Asia.