Fulcrum editor Lee Hwok Aun speaks with Stephen Olson,Visiting Senior Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, on making sense of the Trump tariffs and thinking through the unpredictabilities. 

2:38 – How Trump 2.0 differs from Trump 1.0 and Biden

10:07 – How to understand the “deals”

16:00 – Threat of semiconductor tariffs and forced semiconductor investment in the US

19:47 – The transshipment problem

23:34 – Southeast Asia’s tariff rates

25:59 – Negotiating with the Trump administration; outlookfor Myanmar and Laos

29:28 – Implications on trade and export-led development

32:30 – US domestic politics and law as possible moderatingforces

35:40 – US-China rivalry and role of China in the worldeconomy

Dialogues at Fulcrum is a podcast published by the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.