Jakarta. ASEAN should denounce US President Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs as Southeast Asian leaders inch closer to their Kuala Lumpur meeting next month, according to a senior economist.

ASEAN has less than 3 months before Trump’s reciprocal tariffs hit its members. The rates can go as high as 49 percent, although the hikes vary by country depending on how unfair bilateral trade has been in Trump’s eyes. These tariffs will enter into force early July, and a 10 percent baseline import tax has already been applied to US-bound goods. 

About a week after Trump’s announcement, ASEAN launched a ministerial statement, announcing that the ten-member grouping would “not impose any retaliatory measures” in favor of “frank and constructive dialogue”. However, Lili Yan Ing, the secretary-general of the International Economic Association, said Wednesday that ASEAN should not shy away from criticizing Trump’s tariffs.

“Indonesia, ASEAN -- as other countries across the globe -- should firmly say that tariff aggressions are the biggest mistake ever made in the history of modern economy,” Lili said at the Investor Daily Round Table forum hosted by B-Universe Media Holdings in Jakarta.

She said: “Our stance, both Indonesia and ASEAN, is already crystal clear. We are not against American businesses, nor want to make an enemy of the American people. What we don’t approve of is Trump's tariff aggression. This calls for a clear political statement from the ASEAN leaders.”

President Prabowo Subianto, alongside his ASEAN counterparts, is expected to gather in Malaysia on May 26. Lili said the summit would be the perfect time for a leaders’ statement that warns Trump of the detrimental effects of the steep tariffs, particularly on the mutually beneficial ASEAN-US trade.

Indonesia, too, has been trying to nudge the US to bring down the upcoming 32 percent tariff. Close neighbor Malaysia has said that it was open to negotiating with the US on non-tariff barriers. Amid these negotiations, Lili said that Jakarta could try to “mobilize American business voices”. 

“Does Trump really care about Indonesia, let alone ASEAN? … He doesn’t care. That’s why we should take advantage of American companies that do business with Indonesia to tell Trump that his tariffs would only weaken trade and ruin its long-standing ties with ASEAN. It will only deal a blow to American companies operating in the region,” Lili said.

“Let them [American businesses] do the talking. It’s gonna speak louder if they are doing the talk,” Lili said.

ASEAN is home to over 6,000 American businesses, according to a report by the US government. US goods trade with ASEAN totaled $476.8 billion last year. The US ran a $227.7 billion deficit that year, meaning that it imported more than it exported to Southeast Asia.

Indonesia finds itself somewhere in the middle when it comes to which Southeast Asian economy gets the short end of the stick in Trump’s tariff blitz. Cambodia is about to get a 49 percent tariff, the highest in the region. Followed by Laos (48 percent), Vietnam (46 percent), and Myanmar (44 percent). Goods made in Thailand will face a 36 percent reciprocal tariff when they enter the US market, even beating Indonesia’s 32 percent. The tariffs on Malaysia and Brunei both stand at 24 percent. Trump also plans to slap a 17 percent levy on Philippine goods, while Singapore will only be subject to a 10 percent tariff.

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