A spur to Chinese influence

The disruptiveness of Donald Trump's tariff war, launched on April 2, has hit the emerging economies of Southeast Asia.

- ANITA INDER SINGH

Even his new decision to remove tariffs on computers, chips, and smartphones made in and exported from the region will not change that reality. That is why the most important effect of his economic warmongering could be to increase the clout of America's arch-rival, China, in the region.

Southeast Asian countries, including members of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), have already been hit by some of the most punitive tariffs — in Cambodia's case, as high as 49%, and in Vietnam's case by 46%. Indonesia reckons with 32% and Malaysia with 24%. Thailand, an old American ally, faces 36%, but Trump is treating Asian and European allies alike — as enemies of the US. Such high levies have threatened to cripple Southeast Asian economies, which have prospered by making everything from Nike sports shoes to clothes and computers for American consumers.

So, Southeast Asian countries are trying to appease Trump. Unlike China and Europe, they will not retaliate. And they hope to reduce or even remove their own tariffs on American imports.