SINGAPORE: With US President Donald Trump broadening his trade war in recent days, the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN should “double down” on its integration, said Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan on Friday (Jul 11).
Speaking to members of the media on the sidelines of the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ meeting and related meetings in Kuala Lumpur, Dr Balakrishnan said ASEAN needs to ensure “we have really removed every tariff and non-tariff barrier and optimise our competitive position”.
“That’s a path of no regret, and I would say the urgency and the salience of doing it now is so much more obvious,” he added.
Earlier this week, Trump announced new import tariffs of up to 40 per cent on certain countries.
Letters sent to 14 countries, mainly in Asia, outlined that tariffs will take effect on Aug 1 unless deals are struck with the US beforehand.
Singapore is not among the 14 nations that were issued these letters.
However, other Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand, face duties ranging from 25 to 40 per cent.
In Southeast Asia, trade is strategy, so the flow of trade and investments is a “key strategic focus” of all governments in the region, Dr Balakrishnan said.
“Our primary success has been, first, maintaining peace, and second, economic integration and expanding economic opportunities.”
