“Many of us here in Asia watch with anxiety US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the US’s three largest trading partners, and his plans for more,” deputy prime minister Gan Kim Yong said Wednesday at CNBC’s Converge Live in Singapore.

Even if not all of Asia is directly affected, the impact of rising tariffs and trade wars could cause major disruptions to supply chains and slow down trade and investment flows, said Gan, who is also minister for trade and industry. That would “significantly set back the growth of the global economy”.

Singapore, one of Asia’s wealthiest economies per capita, built much of its success on its strategically located port, and it remains a significant exporter of electronics and pharmaceuticals.

Yet, along with other trade-reliant nations, it has closely tracked the US president as he unleashes tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, rattling markets and drawing retaliation from Ottawa and Beijing.

A sweeping 25% US tariff on steel and aluminum imports to the US is set to take effect on Wednesday. Other countries have also followed Washington’s footstep, imposing trade restrictions on or looking into China’s steel exports.