The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) opened its annual meeting of foreign ministers on Wednesday, July 9 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, only to be greeted by a new round of tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on 14 countries, including several leading ASEAN member nations. These include 40% for Myanmar and Laos; 36% for Cambodia and Thailand; 32% for Indonesia; 25% for Malaysia and Brunei; and 20% for Vietnam and the Philippines. Washington has yet to announce an updated rate for Singapore, which was given a duty of 10% when the tariffs were announced in April. The tariffs are to begin in August.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the host of the meeting, used his welcoming speech to blast the U.S. tariffs policy as an attack on the entire world. “Across the world, tools once used to generate growth are now wielded to pressure, isolate and contain. Tariffs, export restrictions, and investment barriers have now become the sharpened instruments of geopolitical rivalry,” Anwar said, without explicitly naming Trump. “This is no passing storm. It is the new weather of our time,” he added.
He proposed that the necessary response is to strengthen ASEAN relations internally and globally. “And as we navigate external pressures, we need to fortify our internal foundations. Trade more among ourselves, invest more in one another, and advance integration across sectors with resolve,” Anwar said. “To build a stronger, more connected ASEAN economy is a strategic imperative that will anchor our relevance and resilience for decades to come.”
Anwar also asserted that ASEAN countries must, “reject the idea that the world can be carved into spheres of influence,” or that decisions affecting the region can be made elsewhere. “We are a region that charts its own course deliberately, coherently, and with purpose. ASEAN will not be spoken for in absentia.”
