Southeast Asia caught between relief and new risks after US court strikes down Trump tariffs
CNA
Southeast Asian countries could benefit from a temporary lowering of tariffs, but analysts warn there are other means United States President Donald Trump can use to keep his trade agenda alive.
JAKARTA: A temporary reprieve, or fuel on an already heated political landscape? The United States Supreme Court’s recent ruling on President Donald Trump’s tariffs is being cast in starkly different lights across Southeast Asia, say experts.
Analysts say the decision is poised to send uneven shockwaves through the region, with its political and economic fallout likely to play out differently across different countries, from Bangkok to Manila.
“The only thing certain is that there will be uncertainty,” Lawrence Loh of the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School told CNA, adding that the Supreme Court judgment would not stop Trump from seeking other means to keep his trade agenda alive.
Last Friday (Feb 20), the US Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose reciprocal tariffs last year without congressional approval was unconstitutional.
The court’s decision prompted Trump to invoke a different law to sign an order imposing a global 10 per cent duty on goods imported into the US. Trump has announced that he intends to raise the rate to 15 per cent, but he has not yet formalised that with a new directive.
The rapid expansion of nickel refineries in Indonesia has transformed some rural areas into major production hubs. CNA travelled to Weda Bay in North Maluku — the world's largest nickel production hub, to find out more about the environmental impact of this development.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) last provided an update in March 2024 and victims' relatives remain in the dark about what caused the plane to nosedive from cruising altitude rather than land in Guangzhou as planned.
The rapid expansion of nickel refineries in Indonesia has transformed some rural areas into major production hubs. CNA travelled to Weda Bay in North Maluku — the world's largest nickel production hub, to find out more about the environmental impact of this development.
TEHRAN: Iran threatened on Sunday (Mar 22) to attack key infrastructure across the Middle East if US President Donald Trump follows through on his vow to "obliterate" the Islamic republic's power plants
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) last provided an update in March 2024 and victims' relatives remain in the dark about what caused the plane to nosedive from cruising altitude rather than land in Guangzhou as planned.
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In March 2026 alone, the police arrested eight Malaysians for similar cases.
Videos and photos from the scene showed thick gray smoke billowing from the complex and some workers jumping from a building.
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The meeting appeared carefully choreographed to avoid open disagreements – apart from a brief awkward moment when Trump made a joke about Pearl Harbor.