Why Should the Indo-Pacific Care About Trump’s Tariffs?

Jim and Ray welcome BowerGroupAsia CEO Ernie Bower to discuss how U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs will affect regional trade dynamics.

Ernie explains Trump often uses tariffs and tariff threats to achieve both trade and non-economic objectives, this also creates significant uncertainty for American companies which must quickly adjust their strategies.

He explains how investment in the U.S. had already been increasing due to incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act, but that countries are now looking for more ways to protect their own markets from U.S. tariffs.

Ernie asserts that the geopolitical landscape is shifting toward “South-South” cooperation among the countries of Asia and Africa, and that companies are increasingly making manufacturing and investment decisions because of these geopolitical and geo-economic changes. He says that the technology and energy sectors have been leading the transition into new markets.

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Sponsored by BowerGroupAsia, a strategic advisory firm that specializes in the Indo-Pacific.