United front urged for SE Asia's least developed areas

With the steep United States tariffs weighing on some of Southeast Asia's least developed areas, analysts said intra-regional trade and diversification can help mitigate the risks.

US "reciprocal tariffs" announced in April are seen as hurting the trade-dependent ASEAN region — which was slapped with some of the world's highest duties.

Hafiizh Hashim, assistant lecturer at the Academy of Brunei Studies at the University of Brunei Darussalam, said this is not just about tariffs and trade but also how the tariffs are "creating a ripple effect" on local livelihoods and communities in the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area, or BIMP-EAGA.