Malaysia warns bilateral talks only avenue for Asean to negotiate US tariffs

All but two Asean states were served with tariff letters from Trump earlier this week, with Vietnam the bloc’s only member to secure a trade deal

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Shipping containers are stacked at Westport in Klang on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The latest tariff salvos by US President Donald Trump have triggered widespread anxiety among Southeast Asia’s economies, most of which are reliant on US demand. Photo: AP

Published: 1:31pm, 11 Jul 2025Updated: 11:07pm, 11 Jul 2025

Southeast Asia’s plan of presenting a united front on US tariffs appears to have fallen apart, after the region’s diplomatic bloc admitted that its members will have to pursue their own talks with Washington to bring down punishing levies that threaten to sink demand for their vital exports.

All but two members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) were served with letters from US President Donald Trump earlier this week, announcing tariffs of between 20 and 40 per cent that will kick in from August 1.

The mercurial US leader said in his letters that the levies were necessary to correct “the many years” of “unsustainable trade deficits against the United States”.

Asean had in April declared that it would take a unified position in its approach to Trump’s tariffs, which he first unveiled during his “Liberation Day” announcement on April 2.

Malaysia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mohamad Hasan during a press conference at the end of the Asean Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Friday. Photo: AFP

But Malaysia – this year’s Asean chair – said Washington had made it clear that it was “more comfortable” pursuing trade talks with members of the regional grouping on a bilateral basis instead of with Asean as a single bloc.

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