America’s Protectionism An Urgent Wake-up Call For EU And ASEAN To Reinforce Bilateral Linkages - Sujiro Seam
By Kisho Kumari Sucedaram
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 (Bernama) – America’s protectionist stance and rising tariff tensions with trading partners is a wake-up call to Europe and ASEAN to renew bilateral economic relations and take their trade and investment linkages to a significantly higher level.
Exhorting that global trade situation was no longer business as usual, EU Ambassador to ASEAN Sujiro Seam said the remedy now was for both regions to move away from the United States to counter Washington’s heavy-handedness.
“We have to diversify our partnerships,” he told Bernama ahead of the 47th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits next week, which would include a summit between EU and ASEAN.
“Moreover, EU also agrees we have to focus on the 87 per cent of global which is not the US,” he said, adding that this was all the more relevant as both sides uphold multilateral trade principles and avoid the risks of economic fragmentation.
Following President Donald Trump’s 20 per cent blanket Liberation Day tariffs on EU in April, which tensed Washington-Brussels’ ties, the US and EU agreed to a trade deal in July – limiting tariffs on EU to a palatable 15 per cent.
“We have to focus on our domestic markets as well and that entails increasing intra-ASEAN trade,” he said.
EU has an extensive consumer base of 744 million people while ASEAN’s populace stands at 680 million.
Intra-European trade stands at between 60-70 per cent of total trade, whereas for ASEAN, it hovers at only between 20 and 25 per cent, he said.
This being the case, Seam said there “is progress to be made in achieving better integration of the ASEAN market itself.”
Asked on concerns that the EU’s stringent environmental and sustainability standards could act as trade barriers for ASEAN exporters, Seam said these rules were designed to ensure a level playing field for all players in the European single market.
“The EU is an integrated market of 27 member states with one set of rules that has been our foundation since 1957.
“The same standards apply to European businesses as well as to exporters from around the world. Whether it’s on palm oil, deforestation or carbon border mechanisms, these are market rules that must be respected equally,” he said.
While exporters might view such standards as obstacles, he said they were ultimately designed to facilitate trade and ensure transparency in global supply chains.
“If you’re a Malaysian exporter and you want to sell to any market in the world, you must follow that market’s regulations.
“The EU is no different, except that we have a unified set of standards for all 27 countries,” he added.
-- BERNAMA
