Issue #182: China, ASEAN & Asia Pacific Confront the Turmoil of Trump's Tariffs

A region in tumult as US-China reciprocal tariff rates rise to 145% vs 125%.

Welcome to Issue 182 of Asia Travel Re:Set.

A bitcoin for Anwar Ibrahim’s thoughts?

Malaysia’s (impressively statesman-like) Prime Minister has a tricky twin role to manage his country through the tariff crisis and chair the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

He will welcome China’s President Xi Jinping next week (15-17 April) during a mini ASEAN tour.

How many bitcoins to be a fly on that meeting room wall?

Thanks for checking in…

PS. This week on The South East Travel Show, I produced a 2-part analysis of the origin, impacts and fallout across Asia Pacific of the Trump Tariffs. More below.

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Confirmed! I’ll be joining the APAC Market Impact panel at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai (28 April-1 May) along with Alhasan Aldabbagh, Saudi Tourism Authority; Shahab Shayan, Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, Boon Sian Chai, Trip.com, and Mingjie Wang, China Daily.

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“Overall, I think we need to wait and see – the Chinese travel market to the US is quite diversified. Some segments may be deterred by the strength of the wording in the travel advisory, others less so or not at all.”

As the bilateral tariff heat nears scalding point, China’s Ministry of Culture & Tourism advised its citizens to assess travel risks amid “deterioration of Sino-US economic and trade relations and the domestic security situation in the US”. I enjoyed chatting with Karen Yue, Group Editor of TTG Asia, for this highly detailed new article, China issues US travel risk alert as tariff war escalates.

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Asia Pacific Governments Confront the Tariff Turmoil

OK, so below I’ve linked to both episodes of this week’s 2-part dive into the regional economic, political and travel issues caused by the hubris of Trump’s Tariffs…

PART 1: The Impact of Trump’s Tariffs in ASEAN & Asia Pacific: One Week On (Part 1)

If you missed my special midweek edition (Issue 181) of this newsletter, which summarised Part 1 of the podcast mini-series, catch it here:

Click on the live link below to listen to The Impact of Trump’s Tariffs in ASEAN & Asia Pacific: One Week On (Part 1).

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PART 2: China, South East Asia & Asia Pacific Confront the Turmoil of Trump’s Tariffs (Part 2)

"ASEAN, being the fifth largest economy in the world, is deeply concerned over the recent introduction of unilateral tariffs by the US, including the tariffs announced on 2 April and subsequently the suspension on 9 April... [These] will impact economic security and stability, affect livelihoods of millions of people in the region, and hinder economic progress in ASEAN, particularly less developed economies."

Asia Pacific is in a state of enforced economic panic. This explains the unusually strong wording of this week’s ASEAN response statement.

The Joint Statement of the ASEAN Economic Ministers on the Introduction of Unilateral Tariffs of the United States highlights the diplomatically disguised fury throughout the Asia Pacific region.

As the US government seeks to isolate China, trade diplomacy between nations across South East Asia and North East Asia is at its most frenetic level for many years.

With China, Malaysia (as ASEAN Chair), Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Australia et coordinating their responses, what does the fallout mean for travel in South East Asia and beyond?

And what about India?

On Friday's The South East Asia Travel Show, I steered through the regional responses to Trump's imperial trade pronouncements - and caution against making "long-term forecasts of more than 24 hours ahead".

Currently, the US is applying a 145% tariff on Chinese imports, and China a 125% reciprocal tariff on imports from the US.

This. Is. Economic. Madness.

↔️ TLDR: This situation is a crisis despite Trump's backtrack earlier in the week, because of the centrality of China to the economic eco-system of Asia Pacific.

Click on the live link below to listen to China, South East Asia & Asia Pacific Confront the Turmoil of Trump’s Tariffs (Part 2).

Or find both episodes - and our full back catalogue (right back to January 2020) - by searching for The South East Asia Travel Show on any podcast app.

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And, that’s a wrap for this issue.

Asia Travel Re:Set will be back next Sunday. Meantime, find me on LinkedIn.

Happy travels,

Gary