Trump tariffs: ‘bad news for all’ as Asia hard hit by levies, amid fears of global trade war

Asia has become one of the hardest-hit regions from sweeping tariffs unleashed by US President Donald Trump, with an average rate of nearly 30 per cent levies on exports to America expected for countries in the region.

Experts expect Trump’s latest trade salvo, announced on Wednesday and set to take effect as early as Saturday, to spark a “global trade war” as nations retaliate with their own measures, potentially speeding up inflation in some economies.

While Trump announced a baseline tariff of 10 per cent on most US imports, significantly higher rates have been imposed on several Asian economies – calculated based on the size of their trade surpluses with the US – resulting in “disproportionately stiffer” tariffs for the region, according to an ANZ report released on Wednesday.

While China was the hardest hit with the latest round of duties with cumulative import tariffs now at 54 per cent, other countries in the region excluding Singapore would be subject to an average tariff rate of 29.8 per cent, ANZ said.

Cambodia and Vietnam will be subject to the highest US tariff rates in the Southeast Asian region at 49 per cent and 46 per cent respectively, while the Philippines will have one of the lowest at 17 per cent.

Singapore’s exports will have to pay a baseline 10 per cent tariff in the US, while India will need to pay a tariff rate of 26 per cent, experts have said.

From Japan’s Nikkei 225 to Hong Kong’s Hang Seng stock index, Asia-Pacific markets plunged on Thursday, after Trump imposed reciprocal tariffs because the US accounted for about 15 per cent of exports from the Asian region.