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SOUTH-east Asia is bracing for impact as US President Donald Trump’s dreaded tariffs make a comeback. But this time, the region is better prepared – armed with stronger trade ties and broader economic alliances to shield itself from a full-blown fallout.

Since the first Trump administration in 2017, Asean member nations diversified their trading partners, intensified ties with other economic blocs and jacked up intra-regional transactions.

“This is exactly what they should be doing,” said Stephen Olson, a visiting senior fellow of the regional economic studies programme at Singapore’s Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute.

“As the US continues to abdicate its historical role as the leading global force for free trade, it provides both the opportunity and the impetus for others to run with the ball,” he explained.

He added: “While the US continues to be the world’s largest single economy, the Indo-Pacific region is driving global growth, with rapidly expanding middle classes, growing technological sophistication and a continued belief in the benefits of trade.”