U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Malaysia this week for meetings of Southeast Asian Nations in his first trip to Asia as America's top diplomat, the State Department said on Monday, even as President Donald Trump announced hefty tariffs on the hosts and other regional partners and allies.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Malaysia July 8-12 for meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), marking his first trip to Asia as a State official. Rubio will seek to highlight U.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will make his first trip to Asia since taking up his post, traveling this week to Malaysia for meetings with ASEAN allies.

Southeast Asian nations will express “concern” over “counterproductive” US tariffs, according to a draft statement shared with AFP on Tuesday, after Donald Trump threatened more than a dozen countries with higher levies.

US President Donald Trump's letters on tariff increases are sending shivers through Southeast Asia. Malaysia will face a 25 percent tariff, one percent higher than the rate announced in April. The country has expressed concerns that unilateral measures could disrupt business activities that benefit both countries.

Southeast Asia's biggest economies prepared on Tuesday to step up trade negotiations with Washington after it hit them with steep tariffs, despite a last-ditch flurry of offers to boost imports and slash levies on U.