Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday slammed trade tariffs as regional foreign ministers gathered in Kuala Lumpur for a three-day meet, which also included talks with the United States, China and Russia.
US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff moves will be high on the agenda at a meeting of top diplomats of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Malaysian capital ending on Friday.
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“Across the world tools once used to generate growth are now wielded to pressure, isolate and contain,” Anwar said as the conference started.
“Tariffs, export restrictions and investment barriers have now become the sharpened instruments of geopolitical rivalry,” Anwar said, without specifically naming the United States.
Anwar’s remarks came as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio flew to Malaysia for talks overshadowed by fears of a trade war.
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Rubio is expected in the Malaysian capital early on Thursday for two days of meetings.
This included a post-ministerial conference and attending a meeting by East Asian foreign ministers — which will also see key US-Asia trading partners such as Japan and South Korea participating.
US officials ahead of the trip said Washington was “prioritising” its commitment to East Asia and Southeast Asia, but Rubio’s trip comes as many countries fear the imposition of punitive tariffs.
Sweeping levies Trump announced in April were mostly suspended, as Washington engages in negotiations with friends and foes alike.
On Monday, Trump said he would impose 25 percent tariffs on key US allies Japan and South Korea and 12 others, including Southeast Asian nations Malaysia (25 percent) and Laos (40 percent), as of August 1.
Export-dependent Vietnam, which like Malaysia and Laos is an ASEAN member, is one of the few countries to already reach a tentative agreement with Washington that spares it the high level of levies that Trump had threatened.
Anwar urged countries of the 10-nation bloc — which is also dealing with several internal spats — to show unity “speak with coherence, act with foresight”.
But ASEAN is grappling with the ongoing civil war in Myanamar which has seen more than 6,000 people killed and millions of others displaced.
“Regrettably, peace remains elusive as the suffering deepens,” Anwar said.
Meanwhile a border spat between Thailand and Cambodia continued to simmer.
Malaysia is this year’s rotating chair of ASEAN — long derided by critics as a toothless talking shop.
“Our cohesion must not end at declarations,” Anwar said.
“It must be built into our institutions, our strategies and our economic decisions.”