Sweeping levies that Trump introduced in April had been largely suspended, as Washington engages in negotiations with buddies and foes alike.
On Monday, Trump mentioned he would impose 25 per cent tariffs on key US allies Japan and South Korea and 12 others, together with Southeast Asian nations Malaysia (25 per cent) and Laos (40 per cent), as of Aug 1.
At a doorstop with journalists after his opening speech, Anwar mentioned Malaysia has despatched groups to barter with the US and “clarify the place that ours is a buying and selling nation and due to this fact any unilateral tariff will affect negatively on the financial system of this nation and this area”.
“However we’re nonetheless within the midst of negotiations and once I meet Secretary Rubio tomorrow, I am certain I’ll actually elevate a few of these points for his consideration … earlier than the ultimate determination by President Trump,” Anwar mentioned.
Export-dependent Vietnam, which like Malaysia and Laos is an ASEAN member, is among the few international locations to have already reached a tentative settlement with Washington that spares it the excessive stage of levies that Trump had threatened.
Malaysia is that this 12 months’s rotating chair of ASEAN.
Anwar urged international locations of the 10-nation bloc – which can also be coping with a number of inside spats – to indicate unity “communicate with coherence, act with foresight”.
However ASEAN is grappling with the continued civil battle in Myanmar, which has seen greater than 6,000 folks killed and hundreds of thousands of others displaced.
“Regrettably, peace stays elusive because the struggling deepens,” Anwar mentioned.
In the meantime, a border spat between Thailand and Cambodia continued to simmer.
“Our cohesion should not finish at declarations,” Anwar mentioned.
“It should be constructed into our establishments, our methods and our financial choices.”
