- ASEAN Transshipment and US Tariffs: Balancing Opportunity and Risk
- Corporate Establishment
- Taxation in ASEAN
- Human Resources and Payroll in ASEAN
- Auditing and Compliance in ASEAN
ASEAN Transshipment and US Tariffs: Balancing Opportunity and Risk
The United States broadened its tariff policy in 2025, shifting from a China-specific approach to a wider protectionist framework that targets entire value chains in strategic sectors such as electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, solar components, steel, aluminium, and semiconductors. As manufacturers adapt, ASEAN has become a key production base for companies aiming to maintain access to Western markets — US goods imports from the region reached USD 352.1 billion in 2024.
But the era of simple rerouting to bypass tariffs is effectively over. ASEAN's trade agreements and port systems now support transshipment only when genuine value is added and origin rules are verifiable. US Customs circumvention probes involving ASEAN economies rose from 6 in 2021 to 20 in 2024, with some duties exceeding 100 percent. For investors, the question is no longer whether to diversify into ASEAN — it's how to structure operations that are compliant, traceable, and built to withstand audit scrutiny.
