Facing US tariffs, Asean unity helps - but nations still need solo hustle

Trump's tariffs show Asean's limits — member states must show unity but also keep bilateral work going while building stronger regional ties.

- Bhavan Jaipragas

A seemingly minor semantic distinction recently highlighted the complex reality Asean faces in how it deals with the erraticity of US President Donald Trump, and indeed all the major powers.

When Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the current Asean chair, said at a conference on April 8 that "we will be dispatching some of our officials to Washington" to begin dialogue on Mr Trump's sweeping tariffs, some media outlets interpreted this as an Asean action - that the officials he was talking about were to speak on behalf of the 10-state grouping as a whole.

Malaysian officials swiftly clarified that Datuk Seri Anwar was referring to Malaysian officials acting in their national capacity - not representing Asean as a whole.

That clarification over a single pronoun, presumably to make sure the Malaysian Prime Minister was not speaking out of turn, in many ways captures the region's dilemma.

Solidarity photographs well, but each member also wants to exploit its own contacts, its own leverage, its own speed in dealing with the world's biggest economies. While they are all for a common position advocating broadly for free trade, they want autonomy and don't want anything to suggest they are bound by what others in neighbouring capitals say.

The reason is structural. Unlike the European Union, Asean is no customs union and has never pooled trade policy outside the handful of trade pacts it has with major economies, as well as through the sprawling Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). It lacks a Brussels-style directorate that can sit opposite the Office of the United States Trade Representative and bargain for all 10 economies at once.