Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs - one year on

How have US tariffs changed the way countries in Asia trade and what has been the impact on the region?

US President Donald Trump announced a slew of tariffs in April last year on more than 90 countries. For a while, it threatened to damage global trade and grind business investments to a halt. Then, earlier this year, the US Supreme Court struck down most of the tariffs the White House announced in 2025, arguing that the president had overstepped his powers. Mr Trump then imposed a new 10 per cent global tariff to replace them. So where exactly are we at now with tariffs?

On this episode of Asia Specific, Mariko speaks to two guests who have been closely monitoring this. Deborah Elms is the head of trade policy at Hinrich Foundation in Singapore, tracking trade relations between Asia and the United States. Nick Marsh is the BBC’s business reporter, and he’s spoken to companies in the region to find out exactly how the tariffs have changed the way they trade.

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