‘Unified Asean should have dealt with US’

‘PRUDENT FOR REGIONAL BLOCS TO ADOPT A UNIFIED STANCE’ TO TRUMP TARIFFS

BusinessMirror (Philippines), July 31, 2025 – In a paper, Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) Emeritus Research Fellow Josef T. Yap and Senior Research Fellow Francis Mark A. Quimba said Asean countries missed an opportunity to leverage regional interests against high tariffs before they negotiated with the United States….
“It would have been prudent for regional blocs to adopt a unified stance. For example, Asean could have advocated for respect for WTO rules without having to flag the dubious configuration of the TTP [Trump Tariff Plan],” Yap and Quimba said.
“This could have given cover for its member countries when they negotiated with the US. Instead, Indonesia, Viet Nam and the Philippines carried out negotiations without any imprimatur from Asean, leaving them with an inferior position vis-à-vis the US,” they added.

‘MAKE EUROPE GREAT AGAIN’:

Moldova’s Crackdown on Conservative Voices Draws Fire at MEGA Conference

EU Today, July 29, 2025 – Moldova’s capital hosted the fourth “Make Europe Great Again” (MEGA) conference this weekend, but the event’s significance was overshadowed by what organisers called “a campaign of institutional sabotage” led by pro-EU authorities under President Maia Sandu.

CHINA-PAKISTAN-BANGLADESH-AFGHANISTAN:
A POST-SAARC REGIONAL ORDER?

India: Regionally isolated

The International News, July 28, 2025 – ….This does not intend to replace already existing platforms like Saarc, rather establish a post-Saarc regional order focused on infrastructure development for regional connectivity. The China-Pakistan-Bangladesh and China-Pakistan-Afghanistan trilaterals signal towards establishing a new regional cooperation mechanism. This can evolve into more institutionalised platforms for regional cooperation and connectivity.
These developments suggest that India’s attempts at shaping the regional framework ‘on its own terms’ have been largely unsuccessful. India, now by refusing to shed its desire for supremacy and due to a lack of cooperation, risks facing regional isolation as well as strategic challenges. This not only accentuates India’s two-front dilemma along the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan and the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China but also opens up three additional fronts amid the new regional alignments.

Trump announces trade deal with European Union

Fox News, July 27, 2025 – President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a trade deal between the U.S. and European Union on Sunday….
“We are agreeing that the tariff straight across for automobiles and everything else will be a straight-across tariff of 15%,” Trump said.
“So we have a tariff of 15%. We have the opening up of all of the European countries, which I think I could say were essentially closed. I mean, you weren’t exactly taking our orders. You weren’t exactly taking our agriculture,” he added, addressing von der Leyen.

Brazil to double down on Brics in defiance of Donald Trump

Financial Times, July 26, 2025 – Brazil will double down on its commitment to the Brics bloc, the Brazilian president’s top foreign policy adviser has said, a move that defies US President Donald Trump’s threats to impose punitive tariffs….
Celso Amorim, lead foreign affairs adviser to leftwing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, told the Financial Times those attacks “are reinforcing our relations with the Brics, because we want to have diversified relations and not depend on any one country”.
On top of the Brics — which includes China, Russia and India — Amorim said Brazil would look to bolster relations with other countries in Europe, South America and Asia.

EU: REGION-BUILDING GCC

EU-UAE Trade Negotiations: A Potential Path to Gulf-Wide European Trade

BILATERAL TALKS DEPARTURE FROM EU’S HISTORICAL REGION-TO-REGION APPROACH

‘CUMULATION’ CLAUSE WOULD SPUR GCC SUPPLY CHAIN INFRASTRUCTURE
ORF Middle East, July 25, 2025 – A bilateral FTA with an individual Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country, and not with the GCC itself as a regional block, “is a departure from the EU’s historical position”….
An alternative scenario一a transition path一which could potentially set the stage for a region-to-region FTA, might materialise in multiple bilateral Free Trade Agreements concluded between the EU and individual GCC countries, alongside the UAE….
A “GCC Cumulation” clause, similar to the ASEAN model, could be similarly powerful in this regard. It would allow materials from neighbouring Gulf countries to be processed in the UAE and exported to the EU under the FTA’s preferential terms. This would create a powerful incentive for deeper intra-GCC supply chains.

How Trump is bringing Europe together again

New York Times, July 21, 2025 – The president has slapped higher tariffs on European goods, and this month, he threatened to impose a new 30 percent across-the-board levy that European officials warned would hobble trans-Atlantic trade.
Mr. Trump has also demanded that Europe do more to pay for its own defense, and has suggested that the United States would not come to the aid of countries that he felt were not contributing enough to their own security.
All of that has pushed Europe further from America — and closer together.

Are China, Pakistan, Bangladesh quietly planting region’s new framework?

Kunming trilateral meeting comes as India-Pakistan rivalry paralyses SAARC and Pakistan is frozen out of BIMSTEC, leaving a regional void.
South China Morning Post, July 18, 2025

SOUTH AMERICA – MERCOSUR:

Canada eyes Mercosur trade pact to reduce US reliance, minister says

MSN | Reuters, July 17, 2025 – Canada’s International Trade Minister said on Thursday that there was interest from both sides to advance trade talks with South American bloc Mercosur, as Ottawa seeks new deals in a push to diversify from the U.S.
Mercosur – which includes Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay – has had negotiation rounds for a trade deal with Canada in the past.
Canada is also keen to continue talks with China to address trade challenges and views a thawing of relations between India and Canada as an important step to support trade, the Minister said.

SE ASIA – ASEAN:

India and Asean are growing apart. Blame Trump tariffs

REBUILDING TRUST CRUCIAL TO PREVENT FORMATION OF CLOSED-OFF TRADE BLOCS

Economic Times (India), July 16, 2025 – Concerns arise that ASEAN nations might become trans-shipment points for Chinese goods evading tariffs, leading India to view ASEAN as aligning with China….
Ties between India and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations are already fraying: They’re being pushed into different camps, and the free-trade agreement they signed in 2010 could become an unexpected victim of the turmoil.

AFRICAN UNION:

African Development Bank and partners unite to push for African Customs Union and Common Market

‘THE JOURNEY TOWARDS THE AFRICAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY’

AfDB, July 16, 2025 – African Development Bank Group Director for Regional Integration Coordination Dr. Joy Kategekwa emphasized that integration is the only viable route to meaningful industrialization and broad-based economic empowerment on the continent….
“The AfCFTA itself, being a free trade area, does not give us the legal answer to how we deal with third countries—those outside the agreement, she said, adding that only a customs union can provide the mechanism for a common external tariff and coordinated trade policy to protect Africa’s internal market….
The African Union Commission described the AfCFTA as a “monumental milestone” in Africa’s journey toward economic unity as envisioned in the 1991 Abuja Treaty.
“To truly unlock our continent’s potential for inclusive growth and sustainable development, we must now accelerate our efforts towards an African Continental Customs Union and a Common Market,” said Moses Vilakati – AU Commissioner for Agriculture….
A key highlight of the event was a panel discussion on “The Role of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in Deepening Africa’s Integration: The Journey Towards the African Economic Community.”

AS TARIFF WARS ESCALATE, CAN AfCFTA BE AFRICA’S LIFELINE?

CitiNewsroom (Ghana), July 16, 2025 – Will the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) be its shield—or its missed opportunity?Amid protectionist pressures, AfCFTA offers Africa a strategic shield and a powerful springboard. By lowering tariffs internally and harmonizing trade rules, it enhances the continent’s economic sovereignty and buffers against global volatility…. The ambition to harmonize rules across 54 diverse economies is a monumental task, one slowed by persistent customs inefficiencies, bureaucratic red tape, and administrative delays…. By presenting a unified front, AfCFTA enables Africa to speak with one voice in global trade negotiations, increasing its leverage to demand fairer terms and forge more strategic partnerships. The continent’s vast market of over 1.3 billion people presents businesses with immense potential to scale beyond national borders, creating new economic frontiers within Africa itself….

‘TRUMPS AFRICA PIVOT ISNT GENEROSITY. ITS LEVERAGE’

AFRICAN UNION SIDELINED; SUBREGIONS IGNORED
RT, July 15, 2025 – Five presidents from West and Central Africa (Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal) joined US President Donald Trump for what was described as a working lunch to discuss trade, investment, democracy, and development….
These five leaders were chosen not because they represent the African continent or a regional consensus, but precisely because they don’t. They were selected for their compliance, not their vision. Revolutionary governments such as those in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, or Guinea were deliberately excluded. The African Union was sidelined. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was ignored. This wasn’t diplomacy, it was a strategic maneuver to fracture African solidarity

EUROPEAN UNION:

Europe Rushes to Negotiate a Trade Deal as Trump’s Team Voices Indifference

New York Times, July 16, 2025 – The European Union is racing to clinch an agreement with the Americans before tariffs kick in on Aug. 1, even as President Trump has signaled he is in no rush….
Mr. Trump is “indifferent whether we take in the 30 percent rate or whether the Europeans come to us with a much better deal,” Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, said on Bloomberg Television on Tuesday, later calling this moment a “generational opportunity to reset trade.”

SE ASIA – ASEAN:

ASEAN stresses importance of economic cooperation with GCC

CITES GCC, PACIFIC ALLIANCE, AFRICAN UNION AS POTENTIAL STRATEGIC PARTNERS

KUNA (Kuwait), July 11, 2025 – ASEAN foreign ministers stressed on Friday the importance of enhancing economic cooperation and regional connectivity with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries….
ASEAN expressed keeness to expand engagement with new partners to promote trade and market integration, citing countries such as the GCC, the Pacific Alliance, and the African Union as potential strategic partners

SINGAPORE: CALL FOR DEEPER INTEGRATION IN ASEAN AS TARIFFS MENACE

BROADEN COLLABORATION WITH OTHER BLOCS
Bangkok Post, July 9, 2025 – Southeast Asian nations have taken steps to deepen economic integration within Asean and broaden collaboration with other regional groupings amid ongoing global uncertainty and disruptions from US tariffs, says Gan Kim Yong, Singapore’s deputy prime minister and minister for trade and industry.

AFRICAN UNION:

Africa mulls continental trade proposal with Trump

FIRST STEP TO CONTINENTAL RESPONSE TO TRUMP TARIFFS

MSN | The East African, July 7, 2025 – The African Union (AU) says it intends to present a united proposal for trade with the US under President Donald Trump, who prefers to engage bilaterally with countries.
And experts have welcomed the move by Africa, seeing it as a first step to an integrated continental approach on Trump’s tariffs ahead of the expiry of a 90-day freeze, initially set for July 9, 2025.

SOUTH AMERICA – MERCOSUR:

Brazil Takes Up Mercosur Presidency Aiming For Deeper Integration

STRENGTHEN REGIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE, TRADE AMONG MEMBER NATIONS, EU, OTHERS

Eurasia Review, July 5, 2025 – Brazil’s first priority at the head of Mercosur, as listed by President Lula, is to strengthen trade between the bloc’s countries and with external partners. The president’s goal is to finalize the South American bloc’s agreement with the European Union, considered the most important.
“….The whole of South America has become a free trade area based on clear and balanced rules,” he declared. “Being in Mercosur protects us. Our common external tariff shields us from foreign trade wars. Our institutional strength accredits us to the world as reliable partners. We will face the challenge of safeguarding our space of autonomy in an increasingly polarized context,” he added.

ARAB GULF – GCC:

One visa, six gulf nations: What travellers need to know about the upcoming GCC Unified Visa

SIMILAR IN CONCEPT TO EUROPEAN UNION’S SCHENGEN VISA

Times of India, June 3, 2025 – In a recent update, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is all ready to introduce a new single-entry visa just like Schngen visa. Yes, you read that right. This GCC visa will allow travellers to explore freely across six Gulf countries.

SE ASIA – ASEAN:

Vietnam: First ASEAN Nation To Broker Deal With US On Tariffs At 20%

Business Today (Malaysia), July 3, 2025 – Vietnamese goods would face a 20 per cent tariff and trans-shipments from third countries through Vietnam will face a 40 per cent levy, he said. Vietnam could import US products with a zero per cent tariff, he added.
“It is my Great Honor to announce that I have just made a Trade Deal with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” Trump said on Truth Social after speaking with Vietnam’s top leader, To Lam….
Also left to later discussion was how the new trans-shipment provision, aimed at products largely made in China and then labelled “Made in Vietnam”, would be implemented and enforced.

New bloc to replace SAARC? Pakistan, China in ‘advanced’ talks to develop new organisation for regional integration

The Week (India), June 30, 2025 – Allies Pakistan and China are currently in talks to establish a new regional bloc that could replace the defunct South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), officials said on Monday….
A recent trilateral meeting on June 19 between Pakistan, China and Bangladesh at Kunming, China, was said to have the new organisation proposal on its agenda.
The SAARC consisted of India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The bloc, which had been suspended for a long time due to India-Pakistan tensions, has not seen any summits since 2014.

PAK, CHINA EYE NEW BLOC REPLACING SAARC

Express Tribune (Pakistan), June 30, 2025 – If the proposal is materialised, SAARC, which was once dubbed European Union (EU) of South Asia, would be dead as ever.

S ASIA, GCC, EU –
IMEC INTER-REGIONAL CORRIDOR:

The new map that could be guiding Trump’s Middle East moves

BROADER IDEA OF USING INFRASTRUCTURE TO TIE REGION TOGETHER

Fox News, June 20, 2025 – The project is called the India–Middle East–Europe Corridor, or IMEC. Most Americans have never heard of it. It was launched in 2023 at the G20 summit in New Delhi, as a joint initiative among the U.S., India, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the European Union. Its goal? To build a modern infrastructure link connecting South Asia to Europe — without passing through Chinese territory or relying on Chinese capital.
IMEC’s vision is bold but simple: Indian goods would travel west via rail and ports through the Gulf, across Israel, and on to European markets. Along the way, the corridor would connect not just trade routes, but energy pipelines, digital cables, and logistics hubs. It would be the first serious alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative — a way for the U.S. and its partners to build influence without boots on the ground….

SOUTH AMERICA:

To Rethink Latin American Integration, Look to ASEAN

HARMONIZING REGULATIONS, FORGING REGIONAL TRADE DEALS

Americas Quarterly, June 23, 2025 – Major regional frameworks include Mercosur, the Pacific Alliance, the Central American Integration System (SICA), the Andean Community (CAN), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI).
The EU represents the most advanced model of regional integration, featuring a common market, customs union, shared policies in key areas, and a robust supranational institutional framework…. However, ASEAN offers a more immediately replicable model…. ASEAN shows that regional progress does not require deep supranational institutions, but it does demand clear mechanisms for planning and coordination…. That coordination is key to delivering on critically important regulatory convergence. Both ASEAN and the EU have reduced trade costs by harmonizing technical, sanitary, and customs standards….  Lastly, ASEAN has forged a coherent network of trade deals across Asia-Pacific…. ASEAN’s model proves that functional, gradual, and outcome-driven integration is possible.

SOUTH PACIFIC:

PM Marape calls for united, inclusive and modernized Pacific Island Forum

PACIFIC ISLAND NATIONS ‘A BIG OCEANIC STATE’

Papua New Guinea Post-Courier, June 23, 2025 – ….Describing the Pacific as a “Big Ocean State,” Prime Minister Marape said Pacific nations must never underestimate their collective value, identity, or strength.
“Our countries are not small island states – we are a big oceanic state, rich in resoources, heritage, and history. We have existed for thousands of years, long before colonial contact. We are a unique people, and nothing can separate us,” Prime minister Marape said….
“We must not view Australia and New Zealand as distant or separate. They are part of the greater Pacific Ocean community. Sometimes we see them as ‘them and us’, but in truth, we are one Pacific family. We must walk forward together,” he said.

ARAB GULF – GCC:

Opinion: Israel vs Iran — does the Gulf Cooperation Council have a role?

“CRITICAL FOR DRIVING REGIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS THAT BIND NATIONS TOGETHER”

EU Observer, June 16, 2025 – The crisis, therefore, also offers an opportunity — one where Europe and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states in particular — must step into the current vacuum to take ownership with a new diplomatic initiative that addresses what the region’s security environment will look like post Israel-Iran crisis….The GCC … sovereign wealth funds will be critical for driving regional infrastructure projects that bind nations together through shared interests, and its religious and cultural influence will help foster narratives of coexistence, rather than confrontation….The European Union itself was born out of the ashes of two world wars….Based on their shared vision for a better and more stable future, Europe and the GCC must now act together, not as distant benefactors or cautious observers, but as co-architects of a new Middle East, outlining a path for a regional system of cooperation and security.

SCHENGEN-STYLE GCC UNIFIED TOURIST VISA APPROVED, TO BE ROLLED OUT SOON

Times of India, June 16, 2025 – The move is seen as a critical milestone that could reshape the region’s travel landscape, enabling seamless tourism across all six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC): the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait….
The visa, sometimes referred to as the “GCC Grand Tours Visa”, is designed to function similarly to the Schengen visa in Europe, which allows tourists to travel freely across participating countries with a single permit.

AFRICAN UNION – SADC:

Trump tariffs prompt Southern Africa to boost regional cooperation

“SADC MUST UNIFY TO NEGOTIATE COLLECTIVELY, AVOIDING WEAK BILATERAL DEALS”

GIS Reports, June 10, 2025 – The Southern African Development Community (SADC), a regional economic community of 16 member states, initially responded with shock to the White House’s far-reaching tariffs….
The U.S. tariffs highlight the challenges small, poorer nations such as Lesotho face in bilateral trade negotiations with global powers like the U.S. Engaging through multilateral platforms like the SADC is critical for these countries to secure favorable trade outcomes.The SADC must adopt a regional approach to the evolving trade regime rather than relying on individual bilateral strategies.

Trump vs. a united ASEAN

SOUTHEAST ASIAN BLOC ADAPTS TO U.S. PRESSURE WITH RENEWED SOLIDARITY

Japan Times, June 9, 2025 – U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs … have sent countries around the world scrambling to respond, adapt and limit the fallout. ASEAN’s 10 members — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam — have been among the most proactive….
ASEAN’s member states are well aware that they are stronger together. That is why, at the just-concluded ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, hosted by Anwar Ibrahim, the group proposed a summit attended by Trump and ASEAN’s 10 national leaders….
This aligns with the global mood: while Trump continues to brandish tariffs as a weapon against America’s trade partners, other countries have refrained from raising tariffs unilaterally….

REGIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE:
ASEAN POWER GRID INTEGRATION SEEKS ENERGY SECURITY, SUSTAINABLE GROWTH

BOLD PLAN TO INTERCONNECT AND HARMONIZE NATIONS’ GRIDS
Forbes, June 5, 2025 – At the 46th Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on May 26, 2025, national leaders adopted a bold plan to interconnect and harmonize regional power grids. The plan for ASEAN power grid integration is designed to create an advanced network of electric transmission lines, generators and utilities across Southeast Asia. Under the plan, the area of nearly 700 million people is poised to meet surging energy demand, boost energy security, and achieve affordable, sustainable growth through deeper regional connections and more coordinated energy markets….
Currently, the ASEAN member states are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, with Timor-Leste expected to join soon.

A United Europe Can Shape the Global Economy

COMPLETE BANKING UNION, CONSOLIDATE FRAGMENTED MARKETS

IMF, June 3, 2025 – Key priorities include boosting innovation, supporting businesses, and enhancing economic security by consolidating fragmented markets, particularly in defense, energy, telecoms, and finance….
The lack of a unified financial market is one of the obstacles, according to Ravi Balakrishnan and Mahmood Pradhan. A single capital market will only lead to a larger pool of savings if Europe also completes its banking union….EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION:

Iran and Russia: Three steps into strategic convergence

ECONOMIC CONVERGENCE THROUGH THE EAEU

IRAN’S EAEU ACCESSION A LONG-STANDING RUSSIAN OBJECTIVE
The Cradle, June 2, 2025 – The first milestone came on 25 December 2024, when Iran joined the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) as an observer member state. Initially seen as a post-Soviet mechanism to deepen regional economic ties, the bloc’s broader ambitions – particularly from Moscow’s perspective – quickly became clear. Iran’s accession had been a long-standing Russian objective since at least the mid-2010s.

See older article links, summaries in NEWS ARCHIVE

VIDEO: GLOBAL SHAKEDOWN (2015)
The world’s developing and projected regional blocs. (Excerpt @ 20:15 of 27:33)