Shiyan Koh: U.S. Tariff Logic, Southeast Asia Export Fallout & Startup Frugality in Crisis – E561

“I think for young people, I generally tell them: you should go work in the US at some point in your life, because you should work in a big, deep market that's incredibly competitive. I think for people who are older—who have kids and families and aging parents and things like that—the calculus is a bit harder, because it isn't a purely professional calculation. And then everyone kind of has to weigh that themselves. I mean, I think on a personal level, even when you live in a blue sort of bubble like San Francisco, the sort of anti-immigrant rhetoric is quite tiring. And it sometimes makes you feel unsafe. Right? And then it raises questions around like: is that the environment you want your kids to grow up [in]?” - Shiyan Koh, Managing Partner at Hustle Fund

“But if you look at the actual math, they basically just looked at the trade balance, divided it in two, and declared that number to be the non-trade barrier amount imposed on the US. I feel like everyone who's done econ has studied comparative advantage—there are reasons why you produce chips, or the classic guns and butter: you produce guns, I produce butter, and we trade so both of us are better off. You can make more guns, I can make more butter, than if we both tried to do both ourselves. So I don't know, I find the whole thing just a little bit ludicrous.” - Shiyan Koh, Managing Partner at Hustle Fund

"They're like, 'Okay, well, let's tax the rest of the world,' which is really what the tariffs are, right? So that's one way to raise revenue. And you know, I guess you could sort of make the argument that over time, as the US dollar also— I guess—depreciates a little bit, that also makes US exports more competitive in the market, which should help trade balances and all that other stuff. So, I mean, you could tell yourself some version of that story. I think it assumes that the impact of the tariffs will not be outweighed by the decrease in demand as prices go up, right?" - Shiyan Koh, Managing Partner at Hustle Fund

Jeremy Au and Shiyan Koh unpack the April 2nd U.S. tariff hike and its sharp break from decades of free trade. They break down the Trump administration’s logic, the impact on emerging markets like Vietnam and Cambodia, and what it means for investor trust and supply chains. They also reflect on how Southeast Asian founders and families can stay resilient by building locally and reassessing long-held assumptions about the American dream.