ASEAN SHOULD EXPAND

When US President Donald Trump finally unleashed his long-threatened tariff blitz, the scale and scope were far worse than most governments expected. It came as no surprise that China would be the hardest hit, but the punishing duties imposed on most Asian countries were a profound shock for nations with financial markets reeling.

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Trump announced a 90-day pause on most of these ‘reciprocal’ tariffs just hours after the took effect. Asian governments benefiting from this reprieve must now use the time they have gained to forge a more unified response and take bold initiatives that give them more leverage with the United States.

Consider that the tariff rate initially imposed on my country, Sri Lanka, which only a few years removed from a political and economic crisis that forced our president to flee and pushed the economy to the brink of collapse, was a whopping 45%. Given that the US is Sri Lanka’s largest export market by far, Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs would deliver a massive blow to the country’s recovery, which I hesitate to say “if” they are imposed.