US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's Asia Trip Amidst Tariff Threats

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to make his first trip to Asia as the top US diplomat this week, heading to a regional summit in Malaysia a day after President Donald Trump threatened a new 25% tariff on the country and others. Rubio flies to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Tuesday for a gathering of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. While he'd prefer to keep the focus on security issues and competition with China, the trip will take place under the shadow of Trump's latest tariff gambit. On Monday, the president unveiled the first of several promised letters that threaten higher tariff rates on key trading partners, including levies of 25% on goods from Japan and South Korea — as well as Malaysia and Kazakhstan — beginning August 1. Fellow ASEAN members Laos and Myanmar will see tariffs of 40% if Trump delivers on his threat. Trump had set July 9 for the expiration of a 90-day pause on higher trade levies. He initially rolled out reciprocal tariffs in early April, but the White House reversed course, froze those rates at 10% for three months, and opened negotiations amid tumbling markets and fears of a US recession. A senior State Department official told reporters Monday that the July 9 deadline will pass while Rubio is traveling to Malaysia, and said the department doesn't lead negotiations for bilateral deals. Still, the secretary will echo the White House's message on tariffs, the official said, defending the need to rebalance US trade relationships. Former trade negotiator Barbara Weisel said partners would focus on the meetings' formal agenda and separate their broader relationship from trade tensions. 'But privately, countries that are hit with tariffs over 10% almost certainly will raise their frustration and anger at the US,' said Weisel, now a scholar with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.