The 10-member bloc of the Association of Southeast Nations, which includes some of the fastest growing economies in the world, has expressed its willingness to seek talks with Washington in the wake of President Donald Trump’s tariff plans, which he paused for 90 days on Wednesday.

“We express our common intention to engage in a frank and constructive dialogue with the US to address trade-related concerns,” economic ministers from the group of 10 Southeast Asian countries said in a joint statement on Thursday, following a virtual meeting on Trump’s tariff, reported Bloomberg.

“This has caused uncertainty and will bring significant challenges to businesses, especially micro, small, and medium enterprises as well as to global trade dynamics,” they added in the statement.

The Asean economies —home to about 600 million people who contribute about 6.5 per cent to global GDP — were poised to be among the hardest hit by the levies, which are now paused for 90 days, with rates as high as 49 per cent.

The bloc agreed that retaliation — a path adopted by China — is not an option and sought to further boost trade and investment with other countries.

The decision to steer clear of any retaliatory measure is significant amid reports that Wang Wentao, Chinese commerce minister, had a video call with Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, minister of investment, trade and industry of Malaysia (MITI), the Asean rotating chair in 2025, to discuss issues such as how to jointly respond to the US tariffs.

Though the Asean countries have chosen not to retaliate against Washington, their export-oriented economies risk being hurt by a global trade war after China — another key market — imposed its own tariffs on the US.

Against this backdrop, the economic ministers said they agreed to set up an “Asean Geoeconomics Task Force” for the group to come up with a forward-looking regional policy response to economic and geopolitical challenges “in an increasingly complex global landscape”.

The countries, along with aspiring member Timor-Leste, also unanimously refuted the basis used in US calculations, reported Bloomberg.

“We continue to have good bilateral and excellent trading, investment relations with the United States,” Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, whose country is the current chair of Asean, said in a briefing on Thursday.

But Asean also wants “to ensure that their relations, particularly with China, Japan, Korea and neighbouring countries remain strong and formidable”, reported Bloomberg.