Malaysian leader says trade being used to ‘pressure, isolate and contain’ as top US diplomat Rubio set to visit region.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has warned of global trade being weaponised against weaker countries, as Southeast Asian ministers gather for a summit against the backdrop of United States President Donald Trump’s tariff threats.
Speaking at the opening of the annual meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers on Wednesday, Anwar said that while power had always shaped trade, it was today increasingly defining it.
“Across the world, tools once used to generate growth are now wielded to pressure, isolate and contain. Tariffs, export restrictions, and investment barriers have now become the sharpened instruments of geopolitical rivalry,” Anwar said, without explicitly naming Trump.
“This is no passing storm. It is the new weather of our time.”
