KUALA LUMPUR: The slew of tariffs announced by the United States will not backfire nor will it alienate the Asean region, says US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rubio said this was because tariffs are being applied on a global scale and it is not focused on one specific region.
Rubio also said he is confident that some countries will be able to get lower tariff rates.
“There is a possibility that before Aug 1, we will reach an arrangement with certain countries that changes those numbers in a positive way.
“That takes time to work on, so that can happen,” said Rubio when met at the sidelines of the 58th Asean Foreign Ministers (AMM) meeting on Friday (July 11).
At the same time, Rubio said he isn’t concerned that the tariffs implemented by the US would backfire.
“For the past 30 years, the US has built up an enormous trade deficit with many countries and regions like Europe, Canada, Mexico, and here as well.
“This is not aimed at one country, because the trade deficit that the US is running with other countries is just unsustainable. We have to address this,” said Rubio.
Bilateral ties between China and the US have been strained since Trump took office and announced a slew of retaliatory tariffs.
Meanwhile, Rubio said that engagement with the US has been positive and a few defence agreements were inked during his visit in Kuala Lumpur.
“This will be made public soon enough. We thought it was a very positive engagement and we identified new areas of cooperation,” said Rubio.
Rubio said the US is interested in tackling scams in the Asean region as they are harming not just Americans, but also residents in the region.
“So, we hope to have some deliverables on that, we hope for a positive and productive meeting in October,” said Rubio, referring to the upcoming Asean summit.
Rubio is expected to return to the US on July 11.
On April 2, US President Donald Trump announced tariffs on various countries, including 24% on Malaysia.
The tariffs were paused for 90 days to allow for negotiations.
On Monday (July 7), Trump announced varying tariff rates on 14 countries to take effect on Aug 1, including a 25% rate on Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Tunisia and Kazakhstan.
Other countries were hit with higher rates such as Cambodia (36%), Thailand (36%), and 40% in Laos, and Myanmar, respectively.
