WASHINGTON — Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam has called on Asian economies to reshape their trade strategies and strengthen resilience in the face of mounting global trade uncertainties triggered by US tariffs.Speaking at a high-level panel at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters, President Tharman described the tariffs as a setback for Asia but also an opportunity to reconfigure partnerships and pursue deeper economic integration.“If the US tariffs are reconfiguring trade, we’ve got to reconfigure trade as well,” he said. “The middle powers and smaller nations of the world have agency. ”The President, currently on a working visit to the United States, proposed intensified cooperation between the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the European Union (EU), a grouping that would encompass 42 percent of world trade.
“If the CPTPP and EU start collaborating, and if ASEAN aligns with the EU, we are talking about more than one-third of global trade,” he said, highlighting the potential for developing Asian economies to advance up the value chain through new agreements. President Tharman noted that many Asian nations outside China face twin challenges, direct US tariffs and the diversion of Chinese exports into their markets. He warned that the broader trend of on shoring production to both the US and China, and the weakening of the US-China trade corridor, could further reshape Asia’s growth trajectory.“Let’s go for new trading arrangements,” he said. “The blessing in disguise is that these disruptions are pushing regional integration and building bridges between regions.
After a period of adjustment, we will emerge with a new resilience.”The panel, held during the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings, also featured IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva, European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde, Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman, and Harvard professor Gordon Hanson, moderated by Lisa Abramowicz of Bloomberg. Georgieva praised countries for their restraint, noting that most Asian economies have avoided retaliatory tariffs. “Trade remains the engine of growth,” she said. “But this resilience will be tested.” Lagarde emphasized the importance of renewed international cooperation to maintain financial and price stability amid technological shifts.
The IMF recently upgraded its 2025 global growth forecast from 3.0 to 3.2 percent, and Asia’s growth projection from 3.9 to 4.5 percent, reaffirming the region as the world’s main growth engine, contributing more than 60 percent through 2025–2026. Asked about whether nations are waiting for the US Supreme Court ruling on tariffs, President Tharman said Asia must not delay. “Regardless of how the Court rules, unpredictability is here to stay,” he said. “We must build alternative trade connections while maintaining constructive ties with the US, a major market with some of the world’s most innovative companies.”