KUALA LUMPUR — Tariffs are now being used to “pressure, isolate and contain” other countries, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim warned on Wednesday as he kicked off ASEAN’s key foreign ministers’ meetings, where U.S. trade policy is set to take center stage.
“Across the world, tools once used to generate growth are now wielded to pressure, isolate and contain,” he said, speaking at the opening ceremony of the ministerial meetings in Kuala Lumpur. “Tariffs, export restrictions and investment barriers have now become the sharpened instruments of geopolitical rivalry.”
