KUALA LUMPUR: Economic ministers of the ASEAN regional bloc committed on Thursday \u201cto not impose any retaliatory measures\u201d against the United States over sweeping tariffs and said they were ready to engage in talks. \u201cASEAN, being the fifth largest economy in the world, is deeply concerned over the recent introduction of unilateral tariffs by the U.S., including the tariffs announced on 2 April 2025 and subsequently the most recent suspension on 9 April 2025,\u201d the Association of Southeast Asian ministers said in a statement issued after a video conference meeting. Despite their concern, the ministers said they were ready \u201cto engage in a frank and constructive dialogue with the U.S. to address trade-related concerns\u201d. \u201cOpen 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 U.S. tariffs,\u201d they said. The special meeting was chaired by Malaysia\u2019s Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Tengku Zafrul Aziz. Malaysia holds the rotating chair of the 10-member regional bloc. Its 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 neighbouring Cambodia \u2014 a major producer of low-cost clothing for big Western brands \u2014 was slapped with a 49 percent duty. 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\u2019s 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. DNA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KUALA LUMPUR: Economic ministers of the ASEAN regional bloc committed on Thursday \u201cto not impose any retaliatory measures\u201d against the United States over sweeping tariffs and said they were ready to engage in talks. \u201cASEAN, being the fifth largest economy in the world, is deeply concerned over the recent introduction of unilateral tariffs by the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-471762","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n