Southeast Asian economies have defied expectations, posting a 25% year-over-year increase in exports to the United States in the third quarter of 2025 despite aggressive tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, demonstrating the region's resilience amid escalating trade tensions. US imports from the region hit a record $40 billion on a three-month rolling average in Q3 2025, according to US Census Bureau data. The surge comes even as Trump implemented reciprocal tariffs of up to 49% on Southeast Asian manufacturing hubs in April 2025, though these rates were later negotiated down to around 19-20%. Chinese exports to the US, by contrast, plummeted 40% year-over-year during the same period.