The tariff increases announced by the United States on April 2, which are currently on hold for 90 days, will disrupt supply chains and affect economic growth in Asia-Pacific (APAC) and around the world, Fitch Ratings warned .
In its report, US Tariff Implications for APAC Companies , the firm estimated that while few APAC companies face high sectoral vulnerability, several will be affected by a potential regional and global economic slowdown .
In this regard, he explained that exports from Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, India, South Korea, Malaysia, and Japan could face much higher US tariffs, which would harm these countries’ economic growth.
“The knock-on effects of sharp US tariff increases in this scenario could threaten even companies with qualifying headroom, as regional and global growth would likely be significantly lower than we had anticipated,” he added.
In its report, the rating agency considered that the industries most exposed to tariff risks would be the automotive, technology, mining, chemical, and metallurgical industries .
Effective tariff rates on U.S.-China trade have risen much higher than Fitch Ratings had anticipated, following retaliation by both countries, and are not yet subject to the 90-day pause.
This, along with the 10% tariff that remains in effect on all APAC exports to the United States, among other sector-specific tariffs, will hurt APAC companies selling to the United States and export-oriented economies in Asia.
Fitch Ratings indicated that the secondary effects of increased U.S. tariffs would be threatening, as regional and global growth could be lower than the firm had anticipated.
On April 2 , U.S. President Donald Trump announced a series of reciprocal tariffs that would be applied to products entering the United States from various countries around the world.
However, on April 9 , the US president paused those tariffs for 90 days , except for China, a country with which he has a trade and tariff dispute.
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