Making South-east Asia’s trade war windfall last
The US-China trade truce is a cue to turn short-term supply chain gains into something more durable.
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Lower US duties on the selected Chinese goods would narrow the tariff advantage enjoyed by competing South-east Asian exports.
PHOTO: AFP
Ramkishen S. Rajan
The Trump-Xi summit in Washington in September brought a welcome attempt to ease the trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
Both sides put forward lists of non-sensitive goods for possible tariff reductions, covering about US$30 billion (S$38 billion) in annual bilateral trade.