{"id":278832,"date":"2025-04-10T14:10:13","date_gmt":"2025-04-10T14:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/10\/southeast-asia-with-little-leverage-seeks-to-placate-trump-on-trade\/"},"modified":"2025-04-10T14:10:13","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T14:10:13","slug":"southeast-asia-with-little-leverage-seeks-to-placate-trump-on-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/10\/southeast-asia-with-little-leverage-seeks-to-placate-trump-on-trade\/","title":{"rendered":"Southeast Asia, With Little Leverage, Seeks to Placate Trump on Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/04\/10\/multimedia\/10int-asean-uncertainty-01-ftjw\/10int-asean-uncertainty-01-ftjw-facebookJumbo.jpg?ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Southeast Asia, With Little Leverage, Seeks to Placate Trump on Trade\" title=\"Southeast Asia, With Little Leverage, Seeks to Placate Trump on Trade\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">They were hit by some of President Trump\u2019s most punishing tariffs, in one case as high as 49 percent. The new levies threatened to cripple their economies, which have prospered by making sneakers and tech goods for American consumers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">So Southeast Asian countries like Cambodia and Vietnam rushed to appease Mr. Trump. They promised not to retaliate, unlike China and Europe. And they proposed to reduce or even <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/06\/world\/asia\/vietnam-trump-tariff-delay.html\" title=\"\">eliminate their own tariffs on American imports<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Thursday, the region woke up to the good news that Mr. Trump had paused his \u201creciprocal\u201d tariffs. The president suggested he had <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/09\/us\/politics\/trump-tariff-pause-be-cool.html\" title=\"\">reversed course<\/a> because of the market turmoil they had caused. Still, Southeast Asia is sticking with its conciliatory approach.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In a statement on Thursday, the economic ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, known as Asean, said the 10-country bloc was \u201cunited in the opinion that retaliation is not an option.\u201d (The ministers were in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for a meeting that had been previously scheduled.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Despite Mr. Trump\u2019s 90-day pause, the anxiety here is palpable. His tariffs, the Asean statement said, are \u201cintroducing uncertainty and undermining trust in the global trade system.\u201d <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/03\/business\/trump-tariffs-vietnam-southeast-asia.html\" title=\"\">Millions of livelihoods<\/a> in the region are on the line. Thailand\u2019s finance minister, Pichai Chunhavajira, acknowledged that the White House had leverage over his nation in matters of trade.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThis is how you negotiate,\u201d Mr. Pichai said in an interview. \u201cYou start with an extreme measure and then ease your demand along the way. We may have to comply.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Pichai plans to visit Washington in the coming weeks and hopes to meet with Peter Navarro, Mr. Trump\u2019s trade adviser; Jamieson Greer, his trade representative; and Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary. His goal is to mitigate the 36 percent import tax that Mr. Trump plans to impose on goods made in Thailand once the pause is over.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Another Thai official warned that Bangkok should not rush into negotiations without understanding what Mr. Trump really wants.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe problem is this: You go in too soon, and President Trump thinks he has all the cards,\u201d said Supavud Saicheua, an adviser to Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. \u201cRemember, he\u2019s playing poker, so timing is everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Supavud added: \u201cWe are a small country. We don\u2019t have that many cards.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Trump\u2019s tariffs have forced many countries in Southeast Asia to confront an existential dilemma: The stunningly successful export-driven model that has powered their economies for years is now under threat.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/ustr.gov\/countries-regions\/southeast-asia-pacific\/association-southeast-asian-nations-asean\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">U.S. trade deficit with Asean<\/a>, in goods, was $228 billion last year. The bloc benefited enormously in recent years as companies moved some production to the region from China, after Mr. Trump, in his first term, imposed levies on China that continued under President Joseph R. Biden Jr.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That shift has led to deeper economic links with China, which could put the region in a tight spot in talks with the Trump administration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cChina is a very important player, we can\u2019t ignore, and yes, some countries have problems with it,\u201d Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia said in closing remarks at the Asean meeting in Kuala Lumpur. \u201cWe continue to navigate in the best manner possible, to secure peace, security and obtain most benefits in terms of economy and investments.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Malaysia\u2019s neighbor Thailand has a trade surplus of about $45 billion with the United States. Mr. Pichai says Thailand is preparing to buy more agricultural products and natural gas from the United States. His goal, he said, is for Thailand to import $50 billion of U.S. products, up from about $20 billion currently.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Trump and White House officials have said they want to reduce the United States\u2019 trade deficit with other nations. But for much less wealthy countries like those in Southeast Asia, closing that gap is virtually impossible.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Still, Vietnam said on Thursday that the Trump administration had agreed to its request to start negotiations on a reciprocal trade agreement. The Philippines said it had reached out to the United States to explore a possible free-trade deal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">One pressing question will be how far countries are willing to go to address a tactic that some companies use to avoid U.S. tariffs: sending finished goods from China to places like Vietnam and Thailand, where they are repackaged or relabeled and exported to the United States.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThat\u2019s the area where there\u2019s going to be a question mark,\u201d said Peter Mumford, who analyzes Southeast Asia for the Eurasia Group, a consulting firm. \u201cIs Southeast Asia really going to do enough in terms of concrete, verifiable steps that will assuage Washington?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Pichai said Thailand would be \u201cmore cautious\u201d about Chinese businesses operating in Thailand that export products to the United States.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Trinh Nguyen, an economist at Natixis, a French bank, said Thailand and its neighbors had little choice but to negotiate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt\u2019s like you have a store and your No. 1 customer is acting in a way that is not the same as before,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019re not going to say, \u2018Go away, right? What you\u2019re going to do is say: \u2018Listen, what can I do to make you feel better?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/10\/world\/asia\/trump-asia-trade-leverage.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>They were hit by some of President Trump\u2019s most punishing tariffs, in one case as high as 49 percent. The new levies threatened to cripple their economies, which have prospered by making sneakers and tech goods for American consumers. So Southeast Asian countries like Cambodia and Vietnam rushed to appease Mr. Trump. They promised not [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":278833,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/04\/10\/multimedia\/10int-asean-uncertainty-01-ftjw\/10int-asean-uncertainty-01-ftjw-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1225,209771,166114,25667,165435,164392,164053,5504,3904,412,215568,5113,15958,2568,14195,52,163486,14600],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278832"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278832"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":278834,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278832\/revisions\/278834"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}