WITH Donald Trump's return to the White House on Jan. 20, 2025, a revived 'America First' policy — emphasizing reshoring jobs, reducing trade deficits and tightening immigration — may again influence emerging economies. Here, we assess potential impacts on the Southeast Asian economy (grouped as Asean), particularly since Asean has become an alternative source of imports and a potential destination for investment relocation amidst escalating trade tensions between the United States and China. We focus on four key areas: tariffs and trade deficits, the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), global supply chain reorientation, and foreign direct investment (FDI).

Tariffs and trade deficits