KUALA LUMPUR – Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations began annual talks Wednesday in Malaysia, with U.S. President Donald Trump’s unilateral tariff measures creating economic uncertainty for the grouping’s member nations.

Ministers from the 10-member ASEAN are expected to express concern over the tariffs, with a draft joint communique seen by Kyodo News saying “the unilateral actions relating to tariffs” are “counterproductive and risk exacerbating global economic fragmentation, and pose complex challenges to ASEAN’s economic stability and growth.”

ASEAN nations were hit with duties of between 10 percent and 49 percent under Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs announced on April 2, with a 90-day negotiation period extended to Aug. 1 after initially being scheduled to end Wednesday.

Trump on Monday notified 14 countries, including Japan, South Korea and six ASEAN members of new tariff rates. Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar saw theirs reduced.

Cambodia’s tariffs were lowered from 49 percent to 36 percent, Laos’ from 48 percent to 40 percent, and Myanmar’s from 44 percent to 40 percent.

The tariff rates for Thailand and Indonesia were maintained at 36 percent and 32 percent, respectively. ASEAN’s current chair, Malaysia, saw a 1 percentage-point hike from its original 24 percent.

Vietnam had earlier struck a deal with the United States that saw its rate reduced to 20 percent from 46 percent.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is slated to attend ASEAN-sponsored foreign ministerial talks with partner nations to be held later this week in Kuala Lumpur.

According to a statement from the State Department, Rubio’s first trip to Asia as secretary of state is “focused on reaffirming the United States’ commitment to advancing a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific region.”

Tariff issues aside, the protracted civil war in Myanmar is expected to be high on the agenda of Wednesday’s meeting as the foreign ministers, in the draft joint communique, expressed concerns over the escalating conflict and humanitarian crisis.

The document will urge Myanmar to adhere to the five-point consensus reached between the country and other ASEAN members in April 2021.

Little progress has been made on the consensus, which aimed to end the violence against the Myanmar junta’s political opponents following the February 2021 coup that ousted the elected civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

The South China Sea, where territorial claims of some ASEAN members overlap with those of China, will also be discussed. China and the regional bloc have been working together to draft a code of conduct to prevent maritime confrontations.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.