US to seal South-east Asia trade deals in coming months, trade representative says
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Asean’s members have largely pursued separate negotiations with the US on the issue of tariffs.
PHOTO: AFP
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KUALA LUMPUR – The US expects to finalise trade deals with more South-east Asian countries in the coming months, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said during a meeting with regional counterparts on Sept 24.
Mr Greer was speaking in Kuala Lumpur at the start of a meeting with economic ministers from Asean, amid concerns within the export-reliant bloc over the impact of US tariffs on their economies.
South-east Asian countries rely heavily on exports to drive economic growth, and there is great concern about the impact of the US tariffs, which have been set at 19 per cent and 20 per cent for most of the region.
Laos and Myanmar have been hit with a 40 per cent rate, while Singapore has a 10 per cent tariff.
Mr Greer said talks with respective countries on the tariffs have been progressing well, with agreements to be finalised “in the coming months or even weeks, for some”.
The US has said it had reached agreements with Indonesia and Vietnam on tariffs, though the countries say they are still finalising terms.
Vietnam, the world’s sixth-largest exporter to the US, risks losing US$25 billion (S$32.1 billion) annually
In a joint statement dated Sept 23, Asean economic ministers noted “adverse impact and uncertainty” arising from the tariff landscape and warned of slower regional trade performance in the second half of 2025, due to the front-loading of exports ahead of the tariffs’ imposition in the earlier part of the year.
The ministers also expressed concern over rising protectionism and unilateral trade measures, which they say “pose significant risks to the multilateral trading system and the stability of global supply chains”.
In his remarks, Mr Greer said the US welcomed trade with Asean but it must be “balanced and reciprocal”.
“We believe that there are many areas where our interests align, and we can work together to achieve shared goals of bringing reciprocity and balance to the global trading system,” he said.
This marked Mr Greer’s first meeting with the Asean bloc, whose members have largely pursued separate negotiations with the US on the issue of tariffs.
But the grouping may be driven to take a more unified position amid risks of steeper sectoral tariffs on industries such as semiconductors, a significant contributor to economies such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
US President Donald Trump said in August he would set a tariff of about 100 per cent on semiconductors, but it would not apply to companies that are manufacturing in the US or have committed to do so. REUTERS
