Trump vs a united Asean

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and China's Premier Li Qiang during the recent Asean-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-China Economic Forum. Also present were Malaysian, Asean and other regional leaders. — Bernama

US President Donald Trump’s tariffs – especially the ultra-high “reciprocal tariffs” that he says will be reintroduced on July 8 for any country that has not struck a trade deal with his administration – have sent countries around the world scrambling to respond, adapt, and limit the fallout. Asean’s 10 members – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam – have been among the most proactive.

Their leaders quickly recognised that, after decades of spectacular gross domestic product growth, Asean is an economic force that the Trump administration would have to reckon with in a serious way. In 2000, Japan was the world’s second- largest economy, some eight times larger than Asean; today, it is only 1.1 times larger, and by 2030, Asean’s economy will overtake it. From 2010 to 2020, Asean contributed more to global economic growth than the European Union did.