Published: 8 May 2025

Author: Kristina Fong Siew Leng

The first 100 days of the Trump 2.0 presidency has been a rocky ride. On the trade front, countries continue to navigate trade negotiations with the US in the current 90-day pause granted on the imposition of the reciprocal tariffs. However, the lack of momentum has projected an image of an administration with no clear strategy. What has added to the complexity of these so-called trade negotiations has also been the inclusion of security issues in talks, raising the stakes for Japan, South Korea and the Philippines. That said, a persistent US concern is the occurrence of countries acting as conduits for the flow of Chinese goods to dodge tariffs as well as facilitating dumping activities concurrently. The recent US announcement of proposed new anti-dumping duties on solar panels imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam underscores the dilemma.

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The article was published by ISEAS.

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The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position or view of IRSEA