Malaysia’s Anwar urges Asean not to ‘sacrifice’ member states over US tariffs
His call at the Asean summit comes as the bloc agrees to widen trade links with the GCC and China to cushion the impact of US tariffs
Asean leaders also discussed Myanmar’s plunge into civil war and humanitarian crisis, as well as agreeing to admit East Timor as Asean’s 11th member by October.
Anwar has pressed Washington to hold an Asean-US summit later in the year so that the bloc of 660 million people can be represented as one, a position suggested by China as it seeks allies in pushing back against Trump’s tariffs.
Four of Asean’s biggest economies – Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Anwar’s own Malaysia – have launched separate bilateral talks with the US in the hope of reducing or securing tariff exemptions for their exports to the world’s biggest economy.
Still, Anwar, who holds the rotating Asean chair, said the bloc came to a consensus that any negotiations with Washington should not be at the expense of any member state or other countries.