Southeast Asian countries breathed a sigh of relief on Friday after the U.S. announced tariffs on their exports that were far lower than threatened and levelled the playing field with a rate of about 19% across the region's biggest economies.

Under Trump's first administration, when he imposed tariffs on Chinese exports, they scrambled to limit their exposure to Beijing, with many shifting production to Vietnam, Thailand and India to avoid higher levies.

Asian shares are lower after choppy trading on Wall Street that saw more losses as investors assess President Donald Trump’s order imposing new tariffs on 68 countries and the European Union starting