Anwar Ibrahim, in his capacity as ASEAN Chair, reveals talks with leaders of five ASEAN member states—Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, and Singapore—on countering “Trump Tariffs” ahead of next week’s ASEAN Economic Ministers’ meeting. PHOTO: THE NATION
BANGKOK – Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the current ASEAN Chair, posted a message and photo on his Facebook page “Anwar Ibrahim” on March 5, stating that he had a telephone discussion with leaders of ASEAN countries—namely Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, and Singapore.
The purpose was to exchange views and coordinate a joint response to the United States’ reciprocal tariff measures.
As ASEAN Chair, Malaysia seeks consensus among member states to establish principles of fairness and equality in international trade negotiations, including in ASEAN-US dialogue relations.
Anwar added that the upcoming ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting, scheduled for next week, will continue deliberations on this issue and explore the best solutions for all member states.
On April 5, 2025, following the announcement by President Donald Trump of new retaliatory tariffs on imported goods from various countries, Southeast Asian nations, seen as alternative manufacturing bases to China, have been hit with steep tariff rates. Most recently, Vietnam and Cambodia have rushed to implement measures and propose solutions to mitigate the impact.
President Trump revealed via social media that he had a telephone conversation with Vietnamese President To Lam, during which the Vietnamese leader clearly expressed willingness to reduce tariffs on US goods to 0% to reach a bilateral trade agreement.
Previously, Vietnam had asked the US government to delay the imposition of a 46% tariff for three months during negotiations. It also outlined several measures, including increasing imports of US goods, removing trade barriers, and adjusting exchange rates and credit policies to support businesses that may be affected.
Meanwhile, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, whose country faces a tariff as high as 49%, sent a direct letter to President Trump requesting urgent negotiations and a postponement of the tariff implementation.
In the letter, the Cambodian Prime Minister proposed to immediately reduce tariffs on 19 US product categories from 35% to just 5%, as a gesture of the “spirit of strengthening bilateral trade relations” and affirmed his commitment to engage in constructive negotiations for mutual benefit.
Asia News Network/The Nation
