Look before you leap into new trade bloc, economist advises Asean

Free Malaysia Today

Geoffrey Williams says Malaysia has little to gain and may even risk being caught in disruptive red tape.   Read More:  https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2025/04/24/look-before-you-leap-into-new-trade-bloc-economist-advises-asean   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com  Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5  Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM  Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h  Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp  Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX  Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb  Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj  Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Download FMT News App:  Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46  App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ  Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP   #FMTNews #Asean #GeoffreyWilliams #EastAsiaBufferBloc

Transcript

00:00An economist has cautioned ASEAN against rushing into a new trade bloc with Japan and South Korea,

00:07saying that U.S. trade policy is more predictable than it appears.

00:11Jeffrey Williams said a proposal to form an East Asia buffer bloc,

00:16comprising ASEAN, Japan and South Korea,

00:19rests on weak assumptions and overlooks more practical solutions.

00:23He said the proposal incorrectly assumed that ASEAN,

00:27South Korea and Japan share common and aligned incentives.

00:31Williams warned that Malaysia may not have much to gain from being part of such a bloc

00:36and would instead risk getting itself entangled in bureaucracy.

00:40He said countries should focus on removing trade barriers and supporting open markets,

00:45which would boost economic growth for everyone.

00:48Williams was commenting on Penang-born U.S. economist Wu Wing Tai's call to form an East Asia buffer bloc

00:54to withstand the impact of unpredictable U.S. trade policies and growing U.S.-China tensions.

01:00Naritha Raja, FMT.

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