Jakarta.  Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced Monday that he had penned a letter to US President Donald Trump as the clock ticked on the latter’s so-called reciprocal tariffs against ASEAN nations.

The Southeast Asian bloc's summit in Kuala Lumpur has officially begun. As expected, Trump’s tariffs would dominate the high-level meeting. The American businessman-turned-politician not long ago threatened to raise tariffs on goods from nearly all US trading partners, including those coming from Southeast Asian economies, in an attempt to improve trade imbalance.

The tariffs can even top 40 percent to some, making the region’s members among the worst-hit by the levy hikes that would enter into force in July. Speaking before his fellow ASEAN counterparts, Anwar said that the "spirit of centrality" had enabled the group to forge a common front in dealing with challenges such as the tariff threats.

"I have taken the liberty to write to President Donald Trump, to seek his understanding, to organize a US-ASEAN meeting," Anwar told the forum as broadcast by the Malaysian news channel Berita RTM.

"[This] means we observe seriously the spirit of centrality," Anwar said.

A large part of the meeting is not open to media coverage. However, the 10-member grouping will likely reveal more details regarding their strategy on the current trade war in their upcoming joint statements. The members had already held talks with the Trump government in bilateral settings.

Just a few weeks ago, Cambodia -- which would face a tariff of 49 percent -- held its first round of trade talks with the US. Indonesia, too, wants to wrap up and reach an agreement with the US within 60 days or by June.

The US tariff rates for the rest of ASEAN are as follows: Laos (48 percent); Vietnam (46 percent); Myanmar (44 percent); Thailand (36 percent); Indonesia (32 percent); Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam (24 percent); and the Philippines (17 percent). Singapore, one of the two high-income economies in the group, only faces the blanket 10 percent tariff. A 10 percent levy on any goods entering the American market is already in place.

The US reported that its trade with ASEAN totaled $476.8 billion in 2024. Washington, however, posted a $277.7 billion deficit that year as it imported $352.3 billion from the 10-member group. In its past regional statement, ASEAN had pressed for a “frank and constructive" tariff dialogue with the US. The bloc also chose not to take any retaliatory measures.

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