SE Asia urges US to clarify 'origin rules'

Questions remain on how Trump officials define a locally made product

- SUI-LEE WEE

Southeast Asian officials spent the past few days praising President Donald Trump's tariffs as a win, saying that they could now compete fairly with their neighbours and that their businesses could plan for the future.

But though tariffs for Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam are set at around 20%, those countries still face a cloud of uncertainty as negotiations grind on. The biggest concern: details surrounding the 40% tariff on so-called transshipments of products from China, and especially what percentage of Chinese-made components would set it off.

Although the countries have taken steps to crack down on the practice, they say the Trump administration has not defined clearly what it regards as a transshipped product.

This has implications for Southeast Asia because Chinese manufacturers have long set up factories in the region, and many of the goods made in them use components that come from China.

Exactly how the United States plans to determine whether a product from Thailand, for example, would qualify for a 19% tariff or a 40% levy is not clear.