Anwar, who is on a two-day working visit to Thailand, said he had the opportunity to discuss the new tariffs imposed by US president Donald Trump with Thai prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.

He said the meetings of Asean trade and finance ministers were partly aimed at preparing for negotiations with the US on the tariffs.

“We have built an Asean consensus. Asean supports free trade and multilateralism.

“We take the position that we do not agree with any unilateral imposition of tariffs as it runs contrary to the principles of multilateral arrangements,” he told a press conference at the conclusion of his working visit to Thailand here today.

Anwar also expressed satisfaction with the alignment of views among Asean and its key regional partners, including Japan and New Zealand.

Anwar said he was pleased that Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba, New Zealand prime minister Christopher Luxon and Asean leaders have collectively agreed on the need to utilise multilateral mechanisms and engage in dialogue with the US.

Both Asean and Malaysia have made it clear they will not adopt retaliatory measures in response to the US tariffs.

On April 3, the Trump administration implemented a minimum 10% tariff on imports from all countries under its reciprocal trade and tariffs policy.

Asean’s Indochina member states were the most affected by the tariffs, with Cambodia facing combined baseline and retaliatory duties totalling 49%, followed by Laos (48%), Vietnam (46%), and Myanmar (44%).

Thailand was subjected to a 36% tariff, Indonesia 32%, Brunei and Malaysia 24% each, the Philippines 17%, while Singapore faced a baseline tariff of 10%.

The reciprocal tariffs have currently been suspended for 90 days, with the exception of those applied to China.