US tariff set to shift Indochina economic balance with Myanmar and Laos worst hit

A rice vendor waits for customers at his shop in Vientiane on October 8, 2024. Landlocked Laos -- a country of only eight million -- has a gloomy outlook as it counts down to a August 1, 2025 deadline when Trump says a 40 per cent levy will kick in unless a trade deal is sealed. - AFP

VIENTIANE/PHNOM PENH (Bernama): The United States’ newly announced tariff structure is set to reshape South-East Asia’s economic landscape, offering some relief to Vietnam and Cambodia while posing steep challenges for struggling Myanmar and Laos.

Under its latest Executive Order, "Further Modifying the Reciprocal Tariff Rates,” Washington cut levies on Cambodian exports to 19 per cent from 36 per cent, a modest reprieve for Phnom Penh as it works to rebuild investor confidence and stabilise the country following its July 28 ceasefire with Thailand.