Miranda Jeyaretnam
The U.S. wants to bolster its relations in the Indo-Pacific to guard against China, but it will have to navigate an environment that’s been stunned by the economic blows dealt by President Donald Trump’s protectionist trade policies.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on his first official trip to Asia this week to attend the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional security conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The State Department said Rubio will focus on “reaffirming the United States’ commitment to advancing a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific region,” rather than on tariffs or trade. The conference, though, will be attended by officials from a number of the countries targeted by new tariff rates set to go into effect next month.
Earlier this week, Trump announced 25% tariffs on two key partners, Japan and South Korea—which are not members of ASEAN but do have delegations attending the conference—after negotiations failed to materialize deals. On Wednesday, Trump also unveiled an increased to 20% tariff on the Philippines, an ASEAN member and longstanding U.S. treaty ally. He also shared new tariff rates on ASEAN members Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand, effective Aug. 1. Meanwhile, Vietnam—one of three countries worldwide to cut a deal with Trump—will be tariffed at a 20% rate.
Tariffs have already been at the center of ASEAN talks, which began Tuesday.
“This meeting takes place amid the unravelling of assumptions, where power unsettles principle, and calm can no longer be taken for granted. The global order is fraying,” Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in his opening remarks on Wednesday. “Tools once used to generate growth are now wielded to pressure, isolate and contain.”
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