Trump strikes deals on trade, critical minerals in S-E Asia

The United States signed a flurry of deals on trade and critical minerals with four Southeast Asian partners on Oct 26, looking to address trade imbalances and diversify supply chains amid tighter export curbs on rare earths by China.

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US President Donald Trump, who is in Kuala Lumpur to attend the Asean summit, signed reciprocal trade deals with his Malaysian and Cambodian counterparts, as well as a framework trade pact with Thailand that will see the countries work to address tariff and non-tariff barriers.

The US will maintain a tariff rate of 19 per cent on exports from all three countries under the deals, with the tariff to be reduced to zero for some goods, according to joint statements released by the White House.

Washington also announced a similar framework deal with Vietnam, which has been levied with a tariff rate of 20 per cent on its exports to the US.

Vietnam, which recorded a trade surplus of US$123 billion (S$160 billion) with the US in 2024, has pledged to vastly boost its purchases of US products to reduce the trade gap.

Mr Trump on Oct 26 inked two separate US deals with Thailand and Malaysia seeking cooperation to diversify critical minerals supply chains, amid competing efforts from Beijing in the rapidly growing sector.