Donald Trump tariff trauma, says BHP Billiton’s Jac Nasser

Jac Nasser says the world will be in ‘complete trauma’ if Donald Trump places 45 per cent trade tariffs on China.

BHP Billiton chairman Jac Nasser: ‘The whole world would be in complete trauma if tariff levels of that size and magnitude are put on across the board’.

Departing BHP Billiton chairman Jac Nasser says the world will be in “complete trauma” if US president-elect Donald Trump puts in place the 45 per cent trade tariffs on China he flagged during his election campaign.

And the former secretary-general of ASEAN, Surin Pitsuwan, says a “storm is brewing” in the Asia-Pacific region as a result of Mr Trump’s election. He fears a US focused on unilateralism at a time the world needs strengthened multilateral ­co-operation.

As Malcolm Turnbull last night left to attend the APEC summit in Peru, Dr Surin told The Australian the US election ­result would have ramifications for ASEAN and APEC and has put the future of regional co-operation in the Asia-Pacific “in limbo”.

The Prime Minister yesterday said Mr Trump’s victory would be a big issue at APEC. “Everyone will be talking about it, there is no doubt about that,” Mr Turnbull said.

Mr Nasser, a former Ford chief who divides his time between the US and Australia, told shareholders at yesterday’s BHP annual general meeting in Brisbane: “I can’t explain Donald Trump.

“The whole world would be in complete trauma if tariff levels of that size and magnitude are put on across the board.”

But Mr Nasser said he did not think the plan would all be put in place and that more about Mr Trump’s intention would become known as he made key cabinet ­appointments.

“I think what you have seen is quite a bit of rhetoric, some of which will happen and some of which won’t,” he said.

“Some of the policies that have been listed ... will probably be moderated. It’s way too early (to tell what Mr Trump will do).

“You never bet against the US, and I don’t think they’re going to do things that will hurt the US. And if they don’t do things that will hurt their country, generally speaking things get worked out. The wall became a fence. I’m sure as he starts to appoint his advisers, cabinet members, it will become more apparent.”

BHP chief executive Andrew Mackenzie said he hoped Mr Trump would not abandon the ­climate accord signed in Paris.

“We do hope that president Trump doesn’t actually tear up the agreement of US support that President Obama and Xi Jinping forged ... because we see this as a strong foundation for future ­action,” Mr Mackenzie said.

Dr Surin, who led the ­Association of Southeast Asian Nations from 2008 to 2012, said the elevation of Mr Trump to the presidency could see seven ­decades of global co-operation ­unravel.

“If America is going to go solo, if it’s going to go unilateral or even going to go bilateral, (then) what we have woven in the past several decades will be under tremendous pressure,” he said.

“The consequence is going to be definitely protectionism, definitely less trade, definitely less open, and I hope it is not going to come to a trade war.

“But the rhetoric during the campaign has been rather worrisome to those who have worked for multilateralism for so long, ­including the Asia-Pacific region, including APEC, definitely TPP (trans-Pacific Partnership) and ASEAN as the centrepiece.”

Dr Surin said that given ­indications of a US retreat, Southeast Asian countries needed to ­advance plans for the ASEAN economic community, agreed to by member countries last year.

“We have to intensify our ­efforts in order to do our regional integration because each and every one of us is certainly smaller than the whole, that is what we will have to do,” he said.

He said that while the region was looking to enhance co-operation, “there is a storm brewing across the Pacific” that would see more unilateralism.

“This is a phenomenon that is putting us in limbo,” he said.

Dr Surin said Australia had long benefited from connectivity with Asia, and the growing anti-globalisation trend in Europe and Australia was of concern.

“I am worried,” he said. “I think the next country will be France, Austria the next country after that, Germany the next country after that. We have a fractured world ... and even the UN is going to feel the pressure.

“If you want to bring everything back, the cost of goods and services will definitely be higher than from China, than from India, than from Mexico, than from Southeast Asia.”