Not contradictory for individual Asean members to engage US on tariffs: PM Wong

Business Times

27-05-2025

[KUALA LUMPUR] It is not contradictory for Asean members to engage the US on its tariffs both bilaterally and collectively as a bloc, Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Tuesday (May 27).
Rather, such actions are 'complementary and reinforcing', he told Singapore reporters as he wrapped up his visit to Kuala Lumpur for the 46th Asean Summit.
He had been asked whether the call for a more coordinated Asean response to US President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs is contradicted by individual member states pursuing bilateral deals.
PM Wong replied that the region is diverse, with individual members having varying levels of economic development, as well as different trade balances and 'issues' with the US.
The US 'may very well prefer to engage countries individually, precisely because the issues are so diverse', while Asean members want the flexibility to do so too, he added.
Yet, it also benefits Asean to come together as a group – and the two approaches are not mutually exclusive, nor at cross-purposes.
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Said PM Wong: 'Whether engaging as individual member states or engaging as Asean, our objective is to reduce barriers with America, to reduce trade and investment barriers. So we will continue to work on both fronts.'
South-east Asian countries are among the worst-hit by Trump's tariffs, with six out of 10 member states facing import levies ranging from 32 to 49 per cent once the 90-day pause lifts in July.
Asked about Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim's request to Washington for a US-Asean summit, PM Wong said: 'For now, we think that America would want to engage with individual countries, but we certainly don't rule out the US wanting to engage Asean collectively – in fact, we would like very much for America to have close links with Asean collectively.'
But he noted that it is unclear what the US' 'key preoccupations and priorities are, and they have many concerns around the world to deal with'.
'At this stage, maybe Asean is not uppermost on their minds, but certainly we would like America to be engaged in the region,' he said. 'And when America is ready, we will welcome that engagement with Asean.'
'Moment of truth' for Asean
Today's uncertain and turbulent global environment is, in many ways, 'a moment of truth for Asean', PM Wong warned.
'We have to either step up and carve out a clear, purposeful role for ourselves in this changed world, or Asean will lose its relevance.'
He said he was glad that at the summit, Asean leaders had 'candid discussions on these new realities', with a 'renewed sense of urgency' to push for closer integration – including full implementation of earlier agreements.
One outcome of the summit was the Declaration on Asean 2045. While this vision statement is an important achievement, what matters are also 'the actions that must follow', said PM Wong.
'We talked about all the things that we need to do beyond the rhetoric, all the concrete steps that we can take to advance Asean integration,' he said, adding that Singapore will work with its counterparts to advance these outcomes.
Closer Asean integration and partnerships forged with other countries should also create opportunities for Singapore businesses, 'including in markets that they may not be so familiar with'.
PM Wong said that the government will work to raise awareness, especially among small and medium-sized enterprises, and help link them up with foreign business counterparts. That way, companies can 'see for themselves the opportunities in these new markets' and forge deals.
Timor-Leste's Asean membership
Asked about Timor-Leste's membership status, PM Wong said the country has made good progress on the roadmap for its accession to Asean.
'There are still some issues to be resolved, and there are still some economic agreements to be negotiated,' he said. 'But given the progress that has been made so far, the leaders agreed at this meeting that we will try and expedite the outstanding issues (and) provide full support to Timor-Leste.'
Asean looks forward to welcoming Timor-Leste as a full member by this year's October summit, and Singapore would do its part to support the process, he added.
A clear mandate
PM Wong's visit to the Malaysian capital is his first since the May 3 general election, in which he led the People's Action Party to secure 65.57 per cent of the vote, in a 4.34 per cent swing towards the ruling party.
During and after the campaign, he had said a strong mandate would aid Singapore in the conduct of foreign policy.
At the Asean Summit's plenary on Monday, Anwar congratulated PM Wong for the 'convincing victory', jokingly adding: 'Otherwise, we'll have a new member.'
Asked if the election result had helped Singapore at the country's first multilateral meeting since the polls, PM Wong said the clear mandate provides the ability to engage foreign counterparts with confidence.
'If I had been re-elected but with a reduced mandate… I'm sure they would have still given some polite words,' he said.
'But I am also quite sure that at the back of their minds, they (would be) making their own internal reassessments: 'Is this someone I should continue to engage? Is it worth engaging this person? Maybe I should wait and see.''
Instead, the government can make full use of this clear mandate in the next five years 'to advance and secure Singapore's position in this changed world', he said. 'And we will certainly do our best in this endeavour.'