“NOT SUSTAINABLE”
US officials said ahead of Rubio’s first trip to the region as secretary of state that Washington was “prioritising” its commitment to East and Southeast Asia.
While US tariffs overshadowed the gathering, Rubio said he was “warmly received” by Asian partners as he sought to placate concerns over the duties.
“If you look at some of these trade deficits, they’re massive. That has to be addressed,” Rubio said at the end of his whirlwind trip.
“Everybody here is a mature leader who understands that that’s not sustainable.”
Trump has threatened punitive tariffs ranging from 20 to 50 per cent against more than 20 countries, many of them in Asia, if they do not strike deals with Washington by Aug 1.
ASEAN expressed “concern” over tariffs, which it described as “counterproductive” and a threat to regional growth, according to a Joint Communique released on Friday.
Long-time US ally Japan faces a 25 per cent across-the-board levy, separate from similar charges for cars, steel and aluminium that have already been imposed. South Korea faces a similar tariff.
Rubio met his Japanese and South Korean counterparts earlier on Friday, with his spokeswoman Tammy Bruce calling it an “indispensable relationship”.
Wang told Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim earlier on Friday that Washington’s “unilateral imposition of high tariffs is irresponsible and unpopular”, according to a foreign ministry statement.
Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan told a closing news conference the ASEAN meeting mentioned “each country’s concerns respectively” regarding tariffs.
Tensions between the United States and China have ratcheted up since Trump took office in January, with both countries engaging in a tariff war that briefly sent duties on each other’s exports sky-high.
