US rejects dealing with Asean, prefers one-to-one talks with member nations

The United States has insisted on bilateral negotiations with individual ASEAN member states rather than dealing with ASEAN as a regional bloc regarding recent reciprocal tariff issues, according to Malaysia’s Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI). Malaysia, a key ASEAN economy, sent a ministerial delegation led by Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz to Washington on April 24 to discuss the matter with U.S. officials, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Malaysia emphasized the need for ongoing discussions and highlighted the potential negative impact of U.S. tariffs on American companies operating in Malaysia, particularly in the electrical and electronics (E&E) sector.

Quotes: Asean

“We have to negotiate on a bilateral perspective. So if we go as a (ASEAN) bloc, they say you’re ganging up against the US. So we have no choice.” — Raveendran Nair, Director of Bilateral Economic and Trade Relations.

“For the E&E sector, we explained that the majority of the companies are US companies. So if you (US) impose the tariff, that means you are imposing tariff on your own companies in Malaysia.” — Raveendran Nair.