Jeremy Au sits down with Jeffrey Lonsdale to unpack the US-China trade standoff, the Taiwan flashpoint, and how Southeast Asia is adapting to global shifts. They explore how tariffs are reshaping supply chains, the risk of trade wars escalating, and the difficult position countries like Vietnam and Singapore now find themselves in. The conversation also looks ahead at how governments, investors, and founders should think about resilience in a volatile world.

1. Tariffs as a political and economic tool - Trump uses tariffs not only to protect US industries but as a form of domestic consumption tax, shifting behavior and revenue like a GST or VAT.

2. Escalation breeds popularity - Politicians in countries like Canada, Mexico, and parts of Europe gain domestic support by opposing Trump era tariffs, encouraging confrontational stances.

3. Two futures for the US economy - A positive outcome involves cutting red tape and reindustrializing; a negative one sees trade wars, inefficiency, and geopolitical instability, especially if China moves on Taiwan.

4. China-Taiwan conflict would ripple globally - Supply chains are tightly linked—any flashpoint could halt key components, expose Western dependency on Chinese manufacturing, and cripple downstream industries.

5. Southeast Asia’s mixed upside - Countries like Vietnam and Indonesia benefit from the “China plus one” shift, but they’re also at risk if rerouted exports from China trigger new US tariffs.

6. Neutrality may not last - Singapore’s attempt to stay neutral could break down in a Taiwan crisis; facilitating trade with China could be interpreted as taking sides.

7. Southeast Asia’s long-term growth hinges on reform - Vietnam and Indonesia need policy upgrades, power reliability, legal trustworthiness, and governance improvements to fully capitalize on global shifts and avoid investor skepticism after scandals like eFishery.

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