DEDeborah Elms

1. Article · Sep 9, 2026 · Deborah Elms

   Commentary: US ‘transshipment scam’ narrative raises troubling prospect of a purity test for Southeast Asia (opens the original)

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   If the US sees all trade as a potential scam, trading partners would do well to prepare for more tariffs, says Hinrich Foundation’s Deborah Elms. SINGAPORE: If the United States were simply arguing against illegal transshipment, there would be little objection across Asia. Governments in the region have taken steps to clamp down and eliminate the practice for years. But the Trump administration seems to be going much further, accusing more than 40 countries, including nine in Southeast Asia, of

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2. Article · Jul 28, 2026 · Deborah Elms

   Commentary: Trump’s tariff wall isn’t going anywhere (opens the original)

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   US President Donald Trump’s tariffs were in search of a legal justification. Forced labour is the latest one, says Hinrich Foundation’s Deborah Elms. SINGAPORE: First, it was a national emergency, then “international payments problems” and now, forced labour in the supply chain. In little over a year, the Trump administration has invoked three legal justifications for its broad tariffs. Three different laws designed to tackle three separate problems, yet they have somehow affected goods trade ne

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