China, Japan and South Korea stand united against the tariff war with the United States. The 13 countries of the ASEAN+3 trading block issued a statement of regional solidarity against U.S.-led protectionism, including tariffs.
They do not mention the U.S. or President Trump specifically but they lay out a plan for regional growth and resilience to international trade.
These Asian countries, they say, account for more than 40% of global growth. The joint economies grew by 4.3% in 2024 and expect the same in 2025. Could they do this without the U.S. market or the World Trade Organization? Time will tell but it does seem, for now at least, that President Trump has unified Asian countries that were not previously unified.
Except North Korea of course. They’re not a part of this.
