Why Trump’s 14-nation tariff package puts China on edge and pressures Southeast Asia
Washington’s latest duties target some of Beijing’s most important partners, pressuring Asean and fuelling trade tensions, analysts warn
When US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to extend a pause on “reciprocal” tariffs until August 1, it offered little comfort to China.
Instead, Beijing’s policymakers may feel increasingly cornered, as Washington also moved to target 14 countries – many of them China’s close trading partners – with tariffs of up to 40 per cent.
Analysts said the latest US tariff package was a calculated strategy to isolate China and strengthen Washington’s position in coming trade negotiations, as the 90-day trade truce agreed in May is set to expire in early August.
“Trump’s newly announced tariffs ... are a continuation of this decoupling agenda,” said Xu Weijun, an assistant research fellow at the Institute of Public Policy at South China University of Technology.