Asia must prioritize regional cooperation for economic resilience amid tariff uncertainty
2025-09-15
Mireya Solís
Kristy Hsu
Alicia García Herrero
Launching CAPRI’s new expert analysis series Roads to Resilience, Brookings expert Mireya Solís, CAPRI senior fellow Kristy Hsu, and CAPRI board member Alicia García Herrero examine how the Asia Pacific can navigate the changing global economy as US policy weaponizes trade policy. The article is also the first joint publication of CAPRI and the Brookings Institution.
In this analysis, Mireya Solís, Kristy Hsu, and Alicia García Herrero warn that trade is no longer governed by predictability but increasingly wielded as a tool of power. As US tariffs disrupt supply chains and unsettle allies, Japan and Taiwan find themselves squeezed by asymmetric deals and mounting uncertainty. Meanwhile, China is consolidating influence across the region.
The authors argue that the Asia Pacific’s middle powers cannot afford to wait for stability to return. Instead, they must take the initiative by building coalitions, investing in regional frameworks, and restructuring their approach to resilience to minimize reliance on any single power.
This analysis, the first in our new expert opinion series, Roads to Resilience, also marks the inaugural publication of the CAPRI–Brookings partnership, formalized earlier this summer.
Director, Center for Asia Policy Studies; Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Center for Asia Policy Studies; Philip Knight Chair in Japan Studies, the Brookings Institution
Biography
Kristy Hsu
Senior Fellow, CAPRI; Director, the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center, Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research
Biography
Alicia García Herrero
Board Member, CAPRI; Chief Economist for Asia Pacific, Natixis; Senior Fellow, Bruegel
Siwei Huang discusses how Taiwan’s “sovereign AI” vision is running on fragile energy foundations. In a period defined by geopolitical competition and energy uncertainty, Taiwan needs to strengthen its energy resilience to advance digital sovereignty and technological power.
Asia must prioritize regional cooperation for economic resilience amid tariff uncertainty
In this analysis, Mireya Solís, Kristy Hsu, and Alicia García Herrero warn that trade is no longer governed by predictability but increasingly wielded as a tool of power. As US tariffs disrupt supply chains and unsettle allies, Japan and Taiwan find themselves squeezed by asymmetric deals and mounting uncertainty. Meanwhile, China is consolidating influence across the region.
The authors argue that the Asia Pacific’s middle powers cannot afford to wait for stability to return. Instead, they must take the initiative by building coalitions, investing in regional frameworks, and restructuring their approach to resilience to minimize reliance on any single power.
This analysis, the first in our new expert opinion series, Roads to Resilience, also marks the inaugural publication of the CAPRI–Brookings partnership, formalized earlier this summer.
About the Author
Mireya Solís
Kristy Hsu
Alicia García Herrero
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