Joint Statement on U.S. Tariff Policies to Be Announced
Letter Sent to President Trump
The 46th ASEAN Summit, attended by ten Southeast Asian countries, has opened in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. The summit is expected to focus primarily on formulating a joint response to the tariff policies of U.S. President Donald Trump and discussing measures for economic cooperation.
According to foreign media outlets such as AFP and The Straits Times on the 26th (local time), the participating countries are expected to issue a joint statement regarding U.S. tariff policies. The draft statement notes that "tariff measures have created complex and multidimensional challenges for ASEAN" and expresses "deep concern over the imposition of unilateral tariffs."
Anwar Ibrahim, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, which holds the ASEAN chairmanship this year, has emphasized the need for an ASEAN-level response to U.S. tariffs. He revealed on this day that he had pushed for a U.S.-ASEAN summit to discuss the tariff issue and had sent a letter to President Trump for this purpose.
ASEAN, which is highly dependent on trade, has expressed significant concern that it will inevitably be affected by the reciprocal tariffs imposed by the United States. In April, the United States announced plans to impose extremely high reciprocal tariffs on each ASEAN member state, prior to a 90-day grace period.
The situation in Myanmar is also expected to be a major topic of discussion at this summit. Mohamad Hasan, Malaysia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, who chaired the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting on the 24th ahead of the summit, stated that he had "contacted various stakeholders in Myanmar to understand their demands" and would "convey these to the Myanmar military regime and await a response."
In addition, the summit is expected to address issues such as regional power grid connectivity, territorial disputes in the South China Sea, and the accession of Timor-Leste to ASEAN.
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