In Malaysia, Rubio Defends Tariffs Planned for SE Asian Countries
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as he attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nations conference in Malaysia, was asked by reporters how Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei, the Philippines, Vietnam and Myanmar received the U.S., given the high tariffs the U.S. announced it will be imposing on those countries in three weeks.
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"These trade changes, they’re happening with every country in the world -- I mean, basically every country in the world," Rubio said July 10. He said the president has been consistent for decades in saying it's unfair that countries export more to the U.S. than they buy from the U.S.
"And so, this is a globalized effort to reset U.S. trade in a way that’s beneficial to the United States, and not just in dollars and cents but also in our own domestic industrial capacity," he said.
He said the letters posted by the president on the tariffs each country would face, starting Aug. 1, were designed to provide certainty for the markets, but added, "Obviously, that does not foreclose the opportunity for individual countries to enter into negotiations that perhaps can adjust those numbers."
Reporters pressed, given the timing of the letters and the visit, and Rubio said his counterparts raised the issue "but I wouldn’t say it solely defines our relationship with many of these countries." He said the relative youth and growth trajectories of Southeast Asian economies make the region hugely important economically, and noted that more than 6,000 American companies have invested in these countries over the last 20 to 30 years.
"We’re not abandoning those relationships. On the contrary, we want to strengthen and build upon them," he said.