Trump’s new trade deals give US an edge over Southeast Asia
US President Donald Trump came to Southeast Asia wielding trade deals his office hailed as “historic”.
The finer details, though, suggest a set of agreements that are uneven and with plenty of unknowns.
In a whirl of activity after landing in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, Trump unveiled trade agreements with Malaysia and Cambodia, as well as the frameworks for deals with Thailand and Vietnam.
The pacts give Trump some clear wins, such as the removal of many tariff and non-tariff barriers on US exports into those countries and pledges to spend billions of dollars on American goods.
The benefits to the four nations were less clear, though. They failed to negotiate a lower tariff rate than the 19% to 20% initially imposed by Trump, and while some exports from Cambodia and Malaysia would be…
