[SINGAPORE] A few rounds of tariff rates have been announced this year, as US President Donald Trump set initial baseline rates and countries scrambled to reach new deals.
Trump had set a pause on country-specific tariffs, which initially was to expire on Jul 9; it then sent South-east Asian countries and China scrambling to secure last-minute deals and protect their economies from trade shocks.
He then signed an executive order last week with changes to some country rates. US duties rose from 10 per cent to levels between 15 and 41 per cent for a list of trading partners.
These higher rates came into effect for dozens of economies on Thursday (Aug 7).
South-east Asia
In South-east Asia, countries were initially faced with huge tariff rates. Vietnam was slapped with a 48 per cent tariff rate, but was revised down to 20 per cent in July. However, a 40 per cent “transhipping” tariff on goods that originate from another country and then sent to Vietnam before being shipped to the US will still take effect.
Regardless, OCBC raised its 2025 gross domestic product year-on-year growth forecast for Vietnam from 5.5 to 6.3 per cent.
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Indonesia similarly had its rate cut from 32 to 19 per cent. The White House said the Asean nation will eliminate tariff barriers on over 99 per cent of US products exported to Indonesia across all sectors, including for all agricultural products, health products, seafood, information and communications technology and others.
“We view Indonesia’s lower tariffs (at 19% from previously 32%) vs peers in key exports (clothing & accessories, footwear, textile) as a potential relief for labor-intensive sectors,” said Macquarie in a Thursday note.
Singapore has a baseline rate of 10 per cent, but Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said it is a rate that the country “can live with”.
US goods imported from Thailand totalled US$63.3 billion in 2024, up 12.5 per cent from 2023, indicated the US Trade Representative office. The US goods trade deficit with Thailand was US$45.6 billion in 2024, an 11.7 per cent increase over 2023.
Imports from Malaysia were US$52.5 billion in 2024, up 13.7 per cent from 2023. The US trade deficit with the country was US$24.8 billion in 2024, a 7.6 per cent decrease over 2023.
US imports from Cambodia were US$12.7 billion in 2024, up 9.3 per cent from the year before. The US goods trade deficit with the nation was US$12.3 billion in 2024, a 9.4 per cent year-on-year increase.
Rest of Asia and the world
In the rest of the region and the world, many products from economies such as the European Union, Japan and South Korea now face a 15 per cent tariff, even with deals struck with Washington to avert steeper threatened levies.
China’s original tariff rate was 145 per cent, but an earlier agreement revised it to 30 per cent. Talks are still ongoing between the US and China, with China facing a tariff deadline of Aug 12.
Sectoral tariffs
In terms of sectoral tariffs, Trump announced on Thursday that he would impose a 100 per cent tax on imports that include semiconductors, though companies moving production back to the US would be exempted.
Trump also said earlier this week the US would initially place a “small tariff“ on pharmaceutical imports before hiking it to 150% within 18 months and eventually to 250% in an effort to boost domestic production.
Some chips that are made in Singapore will likely be affected. RHB analysts earlier in August said that Singapore faced threats due to potential sectoral tariffs on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. They added that “Singapore continues to be the most exposed” in Asean, citing its high trade openness and reliance on manufacturing exports.
The semiconductor industry account for nearly 6 per cent of Singapore’s GDP, according to Economic Development Board data as at 2025, while the biomedical sector contributed 2.3 per cent.
The semiconductor announcement however means a major victory for Apple, which has faced escalating threats from Trump’s tariffs that threatened to ratchet up the cost of producing their signature phones and computers.
Apple CEO Tim Cook and the president announced a fresh US$100 billion investment plan, which will include a new manufacturing programme designed to bring more of Apple’s production to the US.
Most iPhones sold in the US come from India, while the bulk of other products, including Apple Watches, iPads and MacBooks, are manufactured in Vietnam, which was hit with a 20 per cent tariff.
– With additional reporting from Bloomberg, Reuters
