ASEAN must stay united to fight US tariffs: Malaysia
Southeast Asian nations must accelerate regional economic integration, diversify their markets and stay united to tackle the fallout from global trade disruptions resulting from sweeping US tariff hikes.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan's call for a united front came in his opening speech at a meeting of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
He also reiterated the bloc's call to warring parties in Myanmar to end hostilities in a deadly civil war that has killed thousands and displaced millions of people since a 2021 government takeover by the military.
"ASEAN nations are among those most heavily affected by the US-imposed tariffs," he said.
The US–China trade war is dramatically disrupting production and trade patterns worldwide.
"A global economic slowdown is likely to happen," Mohamad said.
"We must seize this moment to deepen regional economic integration, so that we can better shield our region from external shocks."
ASEAN countries, many of which rely on exports to the US, are reeling from tariffs imposed by the Trump administration ranging from 10 per cent to 49 per cent.
Six of the association's 10 member nations were among the worst-hit with tariffs ranging from 32 per cent to 49 per cent.
ASEAN unsuccessfully sought an initial meeting with the US as a bloc. When US President Donald Trump last month announced a 90-day pause on the tariffs, countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam swiftly began trade negotiations with Washington.
The meeting of foreign ministers preceded a planned ASEAN leaders' summit Monday in Malaysia, the bloc's current chair.
A summit is expected to follow on Tuesday with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and leaders from the Gulf Co-operation Council comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
ASEAN's unity is crucial as the region grapples with impacts of climate change and disruption from the malevolent use of artificial intelligence and other unregulated technologies, Mohamad said, adding that ASEAN's centrality will be tested by external pressure, including a superpower rivalry.
"External pressures are rising, and the scope of challenges has never had higher stakes," he said.
"It is therefore crucial that we reinforce the ties that bind us, so as to not unravel under external pressures. For ASEAN, unity is now more important than ever."
ASEAN remained committed to help war-torn Myanmar, which is recovering from a March earthquake that killed more than 3700 people, Mohamad said.
Myanmar's military leaders were barred from attending ASEAN meetings after refusing to comply with ASEAN's peace plan, which includes negotiations and delivery of humanitarian aid.
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Although stocks rallied, the temporary deal did not address broader concerns that strain the bilateral relationship, from the illicit fentanyl trade to the status of democratically governed Taiwan and US complaints about China's state-dominated export-driven economic model. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has repeatedly threatened an array of punitive measures on trading partners, only to revoke some of them at the last minute. The on-again, off-again approach has baffled world leaders and spooked business executives, who say the uncertainty has made it difficult to forecast market conditions. China's decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets continues to disrupt supplies needed by car makers, computer chip manufacturers and military contractors around the world. China's government sees mineral exports as a source of leverage - halting those exports could put domestic political pressure on the Republican US president if economic growth sags because companies cannot produce mineral-powered products. The 90-day deal to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions is tenuous. Trump has long pushed for a call or a meeting with Xi but China has rejected that as not in keeping with its traditional approach of working out agreement details before the leaders talk. Trump had declared one day earlier that it was difficult to reach a deal with Xi. "I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!" Trump posted on Wednesday on his social media site. The US president and his aides see leader-to-leader talks as vital to sort through log-jams that have vexed lower-level officials in difficult negotiations. with AP US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have agreed to further talks between the countries to hash out differences on tariffs that have roiled the global economy, according to US and Chinese summaries of their phone call. "There should no longer be any questions respecting the complexity of Rare Earth products," Trump wrote on social media. "Our respective teams will be meeting shortly at a location to be determined." Trump and a Chinese government summary of the meeting said the leaders had invited each other to their respective countries at a future date. "The US side should take a realistic view of the progress made and withdraw the negative measures imposed on China," the Chinese government said in a statement published by the state-run Xinhua news agency. "Xi Jinping welcomed Trump's visit to China again, and Trump expressed his sincere gratitude." The highly anticipated call came amid accusations between the US and China in recent weeks over "rare earths" minerals in a dispute that has threatened to tear up a fragile truce in the trade war between the governments of the two biggest economies. The countries struck a 90-day deal on May 12 to roll back some of the triple-digit, tit-for-tat tariffs they had placed on each other since Trump's January inauguration. Although stocks rallied, the temporary deal did not address broader concerns that strain the bilateral relationship, from the illicit fentanyl trade to the status of democratically governed Taiwan and US complaints about China's state-dominated export-driven economic model. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has repeatedly threatened an array of punitive measures on trading partners, only to revoke some of them at the last minute. The on-again, off-again approach has baffled world leaders and spooked business executives, who say the uncertainty has made it difficult to forecast market conditions. China's decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets continues to disrupt supplies needed by car makers, computer chip manufacturers and military contractors around the world. China's government sees mineral exports as a source of leverage - halting those exports could put domestic political pressure on the Republican US president if economic growth sags because companies cannot produce mineral-powered products. The 90-day deal to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions is tenuous. Trump has long pushed for a call or a meeting with Xi but China has rejected that as not in keeping with its traditional approach of working out agreement details before the leaders talk. Trump had declared one day earlier that it was difficult to reach a deal with Xi. 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