US-China trade disputes and its impact on ASEAN

This paper examines trade frictions between US and China and if these have an effect on ASEAN's trade ties with the former countries. Since the early 1990s, there have been friction between these two countries whereby US blamed the Chinese government for its trade deficits and pointed to low value of Yuan compared with USD as a culprit. Though former US presidents had taken a softer approach in dealing with China on this issue, current president Donald Trump has been unrelenting and has taken a hardline stance. Trump's presidential campaign was founded on correcting US economic imbalances and he fulfilled his promises by imposing high tariffs on Chinese products. The sticky point is whether this policy will achieve its objectives since there are many US companies operating in China and who export their products in significant quantities to their home market. This trade friction will undoubtedly have spill over effects on the trading partners of both countries, namely ASEAN.