Despite US President Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs in 2025 to reduce America’s trade deficit, key Southeast Asian manufacturing hubs—Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam—paradoxically expanded their trade surplus with the United States.

Malaysia’s US trade surplus rose 45 percent to US$23.2 billion , driven by resilient exports of electronics, machinery, and processed food, benefiting from US tariff cuts and exemptions on critical items. Vietnam recorded the largest US surplus among regional nations, reaching a record US$133.8 billion , a 28 percent increase. Thailand also saw its US surplus climb 44 percent to US$51.3 billion , largely due to strong electronics exports. This unexpected growth followed initial tariff hits and subsequent negotiations, where countries like Malaysia secured reduced rates and exemptions, while also pledging not to impose export bans on critical minerals.

Widening China Deficits and Transshipment Risks

Concurrently with their expanded US surpluses, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam experienced a significant widening of their trade deficits with China in 2025. This trend suggests that Chinese goods, seeking to circumvent higher US tariffs, increasingly flowed into these Southeast Asian markets. Malaysia’s deficit with China jumped 62 percent to US$38.4 billion , while Thailand’s rose 50 percent to US$67.8 billion. Vietnam’s China deficit increased by 40 percent, reaching US$115 billion.

This dynamic has raised concerns among experts regarding potential transshipment risks , where Chinese firms might be routing products through these neighboring countries before re-exporting them to the US, effectively bypassing American tariffs and distorting trade flows.

2026 Outlook: Projected Export Slowdown and Tariff Headwinds

Looking ahead, the trade landscape for Southeast Asia in 2026 is clouded by persistent uncertainty surrounding US tariff policies, with analysts forecasting a slowdown in exports . Trump’s continued protectionist rhetoric, including new tariffs on South Korean cars and threats against European nations, underscores the volatile environment.

Both the Thai Commerce Ministry and DBS for Malaysia have warned of expected slowdowns in exports as the clearer impacts of existing and newly introduced US tariffs manifest throughout the year. Experts like Archanun Kohpaiboon suggest the 2025 trend of widening US surpluses is unlikely to continue, anticipating that new US trade agreements will lead to increased imports from the US by partner countries, consequently reducing their trade surpluses and posing a significant risk to the overall ASEAN economy this year.

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The disgraced financier served as a confidante to OneWeb founder Greg Wyler as the entrepreneur sought funding after launching the company in 2012, the emails show. Wyler later secured investments from SoftBank Group Corp. and Qualcomm Inc. Wyler did not dispute the accuracy of the emails reviewed by Bloomberg.

“Epstein said he had professional relationships with and advised many in the tech industry” during that period, Wyler said in an emailed statement.

Epstein “did discuss investing, but no investment ever occurred,” Wyler said. “More broadly, I never accepted any offer or request he made to invest in or support any company I was associated with.”

A spokesperson for Eutelsat Communications SA, which now owns OneWeb, said Wyler left the company when it entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2020. OneWeb was later restructured and refinanced, emerging under new ownership and governance.

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OneWeb was rescued from bankruptcy by the UK government and India’s Bharti Enterprises Ltd., before being combined with Eutelsat in 2023.
Wyler is now founder and chief executive officer of E-Space, another satellite network startup. The company broke ground on a headquarters in Arlington, Texas, in October, a project the city said would create 2,000 jobs. E-Space did not respond to requests for comment.In a post on X late Wednesday, responding to disclosures that mentioned him, Wyler said his interactions with Epstein “at all times were professional.”

Many of the emails are abbreviated, misspelled or lack context, at times making it unclear whether deals were pursued or merely discussed. Still, they shed light on negotiations and meetings where business intersected with globe-trotting personal lives, including references to Musk and other billionaires.

The Wyler emails are part of a trove released last Friday that details Epstein’s connections to prominent investors, executives, lawyers and political figures.

In May 2014, Wyler shared a term sheet with Epstein while discussing a potential investment involving Alphabet Inc.’s Google.

The two also wrote about visiting Necker Island, owned by Richard Branson – an early OneWeb investor – and exchanged messages about private jets, with Epstein introducing Wyler to an aircraft broker.

Wyler appeared on a flight manifest with Epstein and requested use of his helicopter, while Epstein sought Wyler’s advice on improving broadband at his estate. Bloomberg