Jakarta (VNA) – The finance ministers and central bank governors of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus Japan, China, and the Republic of Korea (RoK) (ASEAN+3) have warned of the potential global economic fallout of protectionist trade policies, in the wake of US President Donald Trump's announcement of higher import tariffs.
The officials said in a statement adopted when they met on the sidelines of the Asian Development Bank (ADB)'s annual meeting in Milan, Italy, said that escalating trade protectionism weighs on global trade, leading to economic fragmentation, affecting trade, investment and capital flows across the region.
The statement of the ASEAN+3 countries, which did not mention the US by name, also reaffirmed their commitment to a rules-based, free, fair and transparent multilateral trading system.
They also called for enhancing regional unity and cooperation, and updating the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation Agreement, which will enhance regional resilience by offering members timely access to emergency financing during urgent balance of payments needs, in response to sudden exogenous shocks such as pandemics and natural disasters.
Since taking office in January, US President Donald Trump imposed high tariffson trading partners, including the 10% baseline tariff and recipocal ones. Many export-dependent Asian economies have been severely affected by this tariff policy, including close US allies such as Japan and the RoK./.
