HOW SHOULD ASEAN COUNTRIES REACT?  ,
Malaysia, which will see its imports to the US get hit by a 24 per cent charge, appears to be holding fire on any backlash for now and is” certainly considering hostile taxes”.  ,
It will instead” seek solutions that will uphold the spirit of free and fair trade”, according to the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry ( MITI).  ,
” To lessen the tax effect, Malaysia is expanding our export industry by prioritising high-growth parts and leveraging existing free trade agreements, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership”, the department said.  ,
However over in Thailand, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said the state had a” strong program” to handle the new 36 per cent tax imposed on its products.
Thailand will deal with the US and did not let the situation to “get to where gross domestic product may miss the target”, she said.
Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, however, held an immediate cabinet meeting early on Thursday. Local information added that officials of the industry ministry does provide a review on the effects of the tariffs on Vietnam’s exports and its economic growth prospects.  ,
Analysts told CNA that the personal ASEAN states may not have much leverage to react to the US tariffs, but they can- as a collective bloc- move to other trade partners around the globe to counter Washington’s mercantilist measures.  ,
” ASEAN countries should resist the temptation to fight, largely because tariffs hurt the countries imposing them more than anyone else. This is the correct answer from an economic point of view, but the condition may vary politically”, said Menon.
” If a reaction is deemed socially needed, then ASEAN should organize that answer. There is fat in statistics”.
The scholar Woo said that ASEAN should regard forging business partnerships with other parties beyond the US, such as with China, Japan, South Korea, the EU and even the Gulf states.  ,
He cited how places like Malaysia which supply semiconductor chips to the US should also look to supplying them to Europe and China, further adding that ASEAN as a bloc may request a free trade agreement with the EU to discover possibilities for business development.  ,
” The Americans are taking the ball home and they are not going to play football with you. So ( ASEAN ) has to come up with our own game”, said Woo.  ,
” And I think the rest of the world is big enough that, after some adjustment, we will be able to restore everything to normal growth ( if we look elsewhere )” . ,  ,
Lin of ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute added that the imposition of tariffs could represent a good opportunity for ASEAN to “enhance regional cohesiveness” through a joint statement or coordinated actions that reinforces trade and investment within member states.  ,
In the meantime, she acknowledged that many ASEAN states may be reluctant to significantly increase their FDIs in the US to circumvent tariffs, as such investments are capital-intensive and take time to establish.  ,
Many people may prefer to wait it out rather than make significant structural adjustments, she said, considering that the Trump administration could only be in power for four years.  ,