A Storm in the Tariff Sea: Malaysia and ASEAN’s Opportunity Amid U.S.-China Trade Tensions
Not waiting for the previous round to cool down, the United States has again escalated its tariff policy. On 12 April 2025, China announced a 125% retaliatory tariff on U.S. goods, following earlier U.S. measures that raised total tariffs on Chinese imports to 145%—a combination of a 10% base rate, a new 125% “reciprocal” tariff, and an earlier 10% fentanyl-linked tariff. Days prior, President Trump had also imposed a 10% blanket tariff on all other countries’ imports for 90 days.