Asean to team up on US tariffs

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has agreed to work together to increase its members' bargaining power in dealing with the United States' tariff hikes, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said yesterday.

- MONGKOL BANGPRAPA

Speaking on the last day of her two-day official visit to Cambodia, she said Washington's reciprocal tariffs on the bloc's exports were among a range of topics discussed with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet.

Ms Paetongtarn said they talked about a possible framework for cooperation among Asean countries.

"We discussed what strengths each country has and how they can combine these strengths to increase the region's bargaining power. It's just an idea," she said.

The premier said she raised the same issue with other leaders in Asean and they agreed that joining forces would make Asean a force to be reckoned with.

"We will have greater bargaining power. We will survive together in the face of the tariff hikes," she said.

Ms Paetongtarn went on to say that Thailand is monitoring the situation closely after US President Donald Trump decided to delay enforcement for 90 days, allowing countries that did not retaliate to negotiate on trade matters.