Separately, Sedek of IPP financial advisers hoped that Malaysia and other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economies could come up with a coordinated regional response against the US probes.
He said that ASEAN governments should work closely to demonstrate that exports from the region reflect genuine manufacturing activity rather than transshipment, particularly by strengthening rules-of-origin compliance, supply chain transparency and trade traceability.
“Trade ministries and customs agencies must be able to provide credible production data that clearly shows where value is created within ASEAN supply chains,” he said.
Sedek stressed that ASEAN also needs to respond strategically to the growing politicisation of global trade.
“The region should deepen intra-ASEAN coordination and jointly explore new export markets, rather than relying excessively on a single destination.
“As Asia has become one of the world’s largest consumption centres, expanding the depth and breadth of regional trade integration can help cushion external trade shocks while preserving ASEAN’s role as a critical node in global manufacturing networks,” he said.
The launch of these new probes has also cast a shadow over existing trade agreements, with critics arguing that deals signed under the threat of the now-illegal reciprocal tariffs may be essentially “nullified’ or require total renegotiation.
Malaysia’s Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Johari Ghani said that the ART that was signed during the 2025 ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur was now considered null and void following the US Supreme Court ruling.
Sedek said that while this was the case, its structural elements remain relevant.
“The framework established important foundations in supply chain cooperation, tariff predictability and investment collaboration, which can still serve as a reference point for future trade engagement between Malaysia and the US,” he said.
Singh meanwhile believed it could be beneficial for countries that have signed deals with the US in the last few months to pause ratification, thereby striking a balance between total abandonment of commitments and ratifying an unimplementable deal.
He added that these countries may then be treated positively in future Section 301 investigations, which could put ASEAN countries in a better position to navigate the increasingly uncertain trade landscape.
Tauhid Ahmad, a senior researcher from the Indonesian think tank Institute for Development of Economics and Finance, questioned the motive of the investigations, alleging that they were a tool used by the US to remind countries not to deviate from existing deals struck in the wake of the reciprocal tariffs and not to renegotiate them.
“Our interests are at stake. At the very least, we should initiate a renegotiation,” said Tauhid.
Additional reporting by Jack Board and Nivell Rayda
