Southeast Asia was one of the biggest winners from United States President Donald Trump’s trade war with China in 2018, luring manufacturers to the region to avoid new tariffs on Chinese goods.

It benefitted from investment, tax revenues and technology transfers that came with the expanding “China Plus One” supply chain concept.

Seven years later, Southeast Asia finds itself in a very different situation as Trump’s second trade war drags on, and it gets squeezed by the world’s top two economic powers. New tariffs from the US threaten its export-driven economy, while it’s also facing a separate surge in Chinese goods looking for an alternative to the US market.

It’s now trying to find its way forward despite the economic pressure, said Jayant Menon, a senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ish

See Full Page