The Philippines and nine other ASEAN member-countries rcommitted on Thursday “to not impose any retaliatory measures” against the United States over sweeping tariffs and said they were ready to engage in talks.
The economic ministers of the regional bloc, in a hybrid meeting hosted in Kuala Lumpur, said retaliation would not be beneficial as the US was ASEAN’s biggest source of foreign direct investments and second-largest trading partner in 2024.
In Manila, the Marcos administration has contacted the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to open talks on the new global tariffs, with a meeting expected to be set soon, Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go said in a Palace briefing.
“We’ve expressed our desire to meet and they responded positively…I’ll be scheduling a trip to the U.S. soon to engage with the USTR,” Go said.
The ASEAN economic ministers said they are “deeply concerned” over the recent introduction of unilateral tariffs by the US, given that the regional bloc is the fifth-largest economy in the world.
Despite that, the ministers said they were ready “to engage in a frank and constructive dialogue with the US to address trade-related concerns.”
“Open communication and collaboration will be crucial to ensuring a balanced and sustainable relationship. In that spirit, ASEAN commits to not impose any retaliatory measures in response to the US tariffs,” they said.
Malaysia’s trade ministry said in a separate statement that all ASEAN members were “united in the opinion that retaliation is not an option.”
The special meeting was chaired by Malaysia’s Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Tengku Zafrul Aziz. Malaysia holds the rotating chair of the regional bloc, home to more than 650 million people.
Philippine Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque added: “We recognized the necessity for a comprehensive impact assessment to fully understand the direct and indirect consequences of these tariffs on ASEAN member states.”
“We also emphasized the importance of crafting effective mitigation strategies to safeguard our interests and uphold investor confidence across the region,” she added.
In addition to addressing the US tariffs, Roque said the ministers also focused on strengthening intra-ASEAN trade and investment in the light of outside pressures.
“The Philippines remains dedicated to ASEAN and we are ready to collaborate with fellow member states to cultivate stronger, more strategic global partnerships,” Roque added.
ASEAN members, which count on the United States as their main export market, were among those hit with the toughest levies by US President Donald Trump.
Manufacturing powerhouse Vietnam was hit with a 46 percent tariff on exports to the United States while neighboring Cambodia — a major producer of low-cost clothing for big Western brands — was slapped with a 49 percent duty. AFP
The other ASEAN members hit with hefty tariffs are Laos (48 percent), Myanmar (44 percent), Thailand (36 percent) and Indonesia (32 percent).
Malaysia, Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy, was hit with a lower tariff of 24 percent.
Brunei also faces a 24 percent tariff, while the Philippines was hit with 17 percent and Singapore 10 percent.
Following chaos in the global markets, Trump on Wednesday (Thursday, Manila time) announced a 90-day pause on the tariffs.
“Nothing is certain but uncertainty when it comes to Trump tariffs!” Zafrul, the Malaysian trade minister, wrote on social network LinkedIn earlier Thursday. With AFP
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline: “No ‘retaliatory measures’ against US—ASEAN economic ministers”