Since his inauguration as the 47th U.S. president in January amid the US-China hegemonic high tech competition, Donald Trump’s protectionist trade policy based on “Make America Great Again” has shaken the long standing foundation of a global trade order. With high import tariffs, Trump is deeply committed to protecting American manufacturing, creating needed jobs and improving the U.S. chronic trade deficit, among other things. Trump’s “America First” tariffs agenda – unprecedented and often inconsistent in its implementation – has been causing fearful challenges for the US’ trading partners. It has also sparked a good deal of uncertainty over the future of the US economy. Most East Asian economies are deeply intertwined through trade and investment with both the U.S. and China. This session discusses the broad economic consequences of Trump’s protectionist trade policy, including the financial markets of the U.S. and East Asian economies and durability of the U.S.’ unilateral high tariffs, and searches for how effectively East Asia’s major economies can respond individually to navigate an ongoing turbulent and uncertain trade landscape and collectively to survive Trump’s tariff fallout and salvage the legacies of free trade and East Asian regionalism.