Rubio to make first Asia trip as Trump unveils tariffs on host and allies
The State Department billed the July 8–12 trip as a move to reaffirm Washington's commitment to the Indo-Pacific. Hours later, Trump said he would impose 25 per cent tariffs from August 1 on imports from Japan and South Korea, the key US regional allies and vital partners in countering China's growing might.
Trump also announced plans for tariffs on Malaysia and five other countries in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, whose ministers Rubio will join for meetings in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia faces a 25 per cent tariff, Laos and Myanmar 40 per cent, Cambodia and US ally Thailand 36 per cent, and Indonesia 32 per cent.
Rubio will seek to firm up US relationships with partners and allies unnerved by Trump's global tariff strategy. Trump's announcements seemed certain to make that task harder.
The trip has been seen as part of a renewed US focus on the Indo-Pacific and an effort to look beyond conflicts in the Middle East and Europe that have consumed much of the Trump administration's attention.
"Top topics that he's going to want to hit, obviously, are to reaffirm our commitment to East Asia, to Asean, to the Indo-Pacific, and not just ... for its own sake," a senior State Department official told reporters.
"I think a key message that the secretary likes to deliver is that we're committed, and we prioritise it because it is in America's interests, right? It promotes American prosperity and it promotes American security."
The official said Rubio would be prepared to discuss trade, including reiterating that the need to rebalance US trade relationships is significant and echoing messages from the White House and the US Trade Representative.
Asean countries have been nervous about Trump's tariffs and questioned the willingness of his "America First" administration to fully engage diplomatically and economically with the region.
"There is a hunger to be reassured that the US actually views the Indo-Pacific as the primary theatre of US interests, key to US national security," said Greg Poling, director of the Southeast Asia Programme at Washington's Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
On Sunday, Trump said the US was close to finalising several trade pacts and would notify other countries by July 9 of higher tariff rates.
He also sent a message to BRICS group of developing nations as its leaders met in Brazil, threatening an additional 10 per cent tariff on any that align themselves with "anti-American" policies.
The BRICS countries include Indonesia, as well as China and India.
Last week, Trump announced he had reached a trade agreement with important Southeast Asian partner and Asean member Vietnam and could reach one with India. But he cast doubt on a possible deal with Japan, which is not only Washington's main Asian ally, but a major investor in the US.
Rubio has yet to visit Japan, or South Korea, the other main US ally in Northeast Asia, since taking office in January, even though Washington sees the Indo-Pacific as its main strategic priority given the perceived threat from China.
South Korea's presidential security adviser Wi Sung-lac headed to Washington on Sunday for trade and defence talks, with Seoul seeking to head off US tariffs.
He aims to meet with Rubio and discuss a possible summit between Trump and President Lee Jae Myung, who took office last month.
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The Star
24 minutes ago
- The Star
Analysis-For Europe, 30% US tariff would hammer trade, force export model rethink
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28 minutes ago
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Malaysia Sun
33 minutes ago
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Trump vows to impose 100 per cent
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I used to speak to President Putin about it a lot. It was the apple of his eye. But once I saw what was going on, I said, they're going to they're going to have a war here. I was outside. Lecture was rigged and I was outside looking in and I said, you know, that thing's going to be a war. Couldn't believe it because what Biden said was the exact opposite of what should have been said and it started and it's a real mess. We're losing I guess they're losing five or six thousand people a day. It's actually now more.' 'I used to was saying 5,000 a day. It's actually more now, mostly soldiers but a lot of people in cities and towns that are getting blown up to it's a horrible war and it should be stopped. And so if it's not done, if we don't have an agreement in 50 days, that's what we're doing secondary tariffs and they're biting and I hope we don't get to the point where we do, but I I've been hearing so much talk. It's all talk. It's all talk and then missiles go into Kyiv and kill 60 people. It's got to stop. But, the purpose of this is to say that this is a very big deal we've made. This is billions of dollars worth of military equipment is going to be purchased from the United States going to NATO etc. And that's going to be quickly distributed to the battlefield, Ukraine will take it up,' he added. Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that he echoed US President Trump's 'disappointment and frustration' at the lack of progress in peace talks during his meeting with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and expressed America's willingness to engage. Speaking to reporters in Kuala Lumpur on July 10 after his meeting with Lavrov, Rubio stated that the US' strategy is to continue engaging all parties involved in finding an outcome to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Rubio described his talks with Lavrov as 'frank and important.' When asked about his message to Lavrov during the meeting, he said, 'Our strategy is to continue to engage all the parties that are involved in finding an outcome to this conflict. We will engage anytime that we have an opportunity to do so, like we did today. I echoed what the President said - both the disappointment and frustration at the lack of progress in peace talks or in a path forward. So, we'll continue to engage.' 'We shared some ideas and comments, which I'll take back to Washington as early as this evening in terms of calls and reflected, and perhaps there's something to build on there. But, it was a frank conversation. It was an important one. We had it, and we talked about some other items as well unrelated to the war in Ukraine, but that was the - obviously, the first and foremost topic that we discussed. And look, the President's been pretty clear. He's disappointed and frustrated that there's not been more flexibility on the Russian side to bring about an end to this conflict. We hope that can change, and we're going to continue to stay involved where we see opportunities to make a difference,' he added. Marco Rubio met Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Kuala Lumpur. The meeting between Rubio and Lavrov came just days after Trump expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin for not engaging in peace talks regarding the Ukraine conflict. (ANI)
