What does the 'ill wind' of US-China trade war mean for South-East Asia?

ASEAN countries proving largest beneficiaries

clock • 4 min read

The world has focused on the US-China trade war with increasing intensity since late 2018, and although during the G20 meeting in Japan, Presidents Trump and Xi agreed to resume talks, punitive tariffs remain in place.

When tensions initially escalated, most manufacturers thought the two sides would find common ground and higher tariffs would never be imposed. Then, as the first 10% actually hit, panic set in and companies scrambled to re-route products, or strike deals with customers and distributors to split the hit between them and leave end-consumers least impacted. Few believed the shift to 25% tariff increases would ever really materialise, but when January came with no resolution, manufacturers based in China began to act. Trade, tariffs and tax: Is China still a viable investment option? ...

To continue reading this article...

Join Investment Week for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, analysis and opinion from the investment industry, including the Sustainable Hub covering fund news from the ESG space
  • Get ahead of regulatory and technological changes affecting fund management
  • Important and breaking news stories selected by the editors delivered straight to your inbox each day
  • Weekly members-only newsletter with exclusive opinion pieces from leading industry experts
  • Be the first to hear about our extensive events schedule and awards programmes

Join now

 

Already an Investment Week
member?

Login

More on Equities

 CFA Institute's Matt Winters: Reform needed to fix company valuation and financials disconnect

CFA Institute's Matt Winters: Reform needed to fix company valuation and financials disconnect

Intangibles accounting needs improvement

Matt Winters
clock 16 May 2025 • 3 min read
Watch Now: Investment, Talks Global Equities

Watch Now: Investment, Talks Global Equities

How can investors navigate the impact of tariffs and a rapidly changing global economy?

Investment Week
clock 08 May 2025 • 2 min read
UK equities bleed £1.2bn in March while North American peers enjoy best month in a year

UK equities bleed £1.2bn in March while North American peers enjoy best month in a year

Ahead of Trump’s April tariffs

Sorin Dojan
clock 08 April 2025 • 2 min read
Trustpilot