The finance ministers and central bank governors of Asian countries have sounded the alarm over the potential for trade barriers to fracture the global economy in a joint statement following the 28th ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting. The meeting, held in Milan, Italy, addressed global and regional macroeconomic situations and financial cooperation within the region.

 

The joint statement reads, "Escalating trade protectionism will become a heavy burden on global trade, leading to economic fragmentation and affecting trade, investment, and capital flows across the region." Although the statement did not explicitly name any country, the backdrop is set against recent tariff hikes by the US, such as the announcement by US President Trump last month of new tariffs on almost all countries globally, with particularly high rates of 49%, 48%, and 46% imposed on Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam respectively.

In the statement, Asian finance chiefs also called for "strengthening regional unity and cooperation to grapple with the increasing uncertainties." They emphasized that their current policy focus is to enhance long-term resilience while maintaining flexibility in the face of challenges like rising protectionism and an unstable global financial situation. Additionally, they reaffirmed their commitment to a rules - based, non - discriminatory, free, fair, open, inclusive, equal, and transparent multilateral trading system centered around the World Trade Organization (WTO). This collective stance by Asian countries signals a significant concern over the current global trade environment and an intention to safeguard the existing multilateral trading order.