Asian finance officials warn of US tariff impact

Shafaq News/ Finance and central bank officials from China, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asian nations met this week to discuss the growing impact of US tariffs on global and regional economies, China’s central bank said on Friday.

Xuan Changneng, deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, joined counterparts from Japan, South Korea, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at regular finance and central bank deputies’ meeting held April 8–9 in Malaysia, according to the statement.

“The meeting discussed the impact of US tariffs on the global and regional economic outlook, as well as ways to strengthen the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) and the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO),” the central bank said, adding that officials reached a broad consensus on the need to deepen policy coordination and reinforce the region’s financial safety net.

The gathering comes amid heightened global concerns over US trade policy, after President Donald Trump last week imposed sweeping tariff hikes on imports from more than 180 countries, with rates ranging from 10% to 50%. While he granted a 90-day suspension for most countries, China was excluded, with tariffs on its goods raised to 125%.

Beijing responded on Thursday, accusing Washington of applying “maximum pressure” and turning tariffs into a weapon, vowing not to yield to what it described as coercive tactics. A White House official later confirmed that US tariffs on Chinese imports have now reached 145% following the latest increases.