Jakarta, May 5 -- The finance ministers and central bank governors of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus Japan, China, and the Republic of Korea (RoK) (ASEAN+3) have warned of the potential global economic fallout of protectionist trade policies, in the wake of US President Donald Trump's announcement of higher import tariffs.
The officials said in a statement adopted when they met on the sidelines of the Asian Development Bank (ADB)'s annual meeting in Milan, Italy, said that escalating trade protectionism weighs on global trade, leading to economic fragmentation, affecting trade, investment and capital flows across the region.
The statement of the ASEAN+3 countries, which did not mention the US by name, also reaffirmed thei...