India, April 17 -- Amid escalating Donald Trump tariff threats and rising trade tensions, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Wednesday said stronger economic integration among ASEAN countries is essential, emphasising the need to address tariff barriers and enhance trade cooperation within the region.

"We should aim for 100% tariff elimination across the region and boost intra-ASEAN trade. We should further reduce non-tariff barriers to make it easier for businesses to operate across ASEAN. We should also conclude the ASEAN Digital Economic Framework Agreement (DEFA), and upgrade our FTAs with key partners like China, India and the Republic of Korea," said Wong.

Speaking at the S Rajaratnam Lecture, Wong also called for accelerat...