US tariff shock upsides for Asean

“Let the dust from the White House settle first,” said former Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon in an interview with Korean media.

- Suh Jeong In

A Southeast Asian figure I met during an Asean Regional Forum (ARF) Experts and Eminent Persons (EEPs) meeting held recently in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, expressed a similar sentiment.

I feel the same way. The tariff war instigated by US President Donald Trump is a wake-up call for all of us, including Asean and South Korea. Right now, Mr Trump's unilateral imposition of so-called reciprocal tariffs has set everyone's feet on fire — everyone is scrambling for survival strategies.

But in a few months, once tariff negotiations come to a close, countries will come to their senses. There will be growing recognition that the international economic environment is undergoing a massive shift, and it is time to ask whether it was truly wise to base growth strategies solely on access to the US market. While it may be unrealistic to devise export strategies that exclude the US, more countries will come to embrace a “US+1” strategy as a means of export diversification.

As someone who has long been deeply involved with Asean and has a great love for Southeast Asia, I would like to propose two strategies for Asean, which are informed by this “US+1” strategy and are mindful of Asean’s stature as a key trading partner with Korea.