#864: US Ambassador Defends Trump’s Tariffs & Says S’pore Can Trust The US | Kevin Kim

Terence (0:00)

This man was in the room for the Trump Kim Summit in Singapore back in 2018 Last year, in Malaysia, he was part of the US team that brokered the peace deal between Thailand and Cambodia. Meet Kevin Kim, the recently appointed US ambassador to ASEAN. This is his first ever podcast in which we discussed tariffs.

Kevin Kim (0:17)

But I think from our perspective, it is part of a comprehensive effort to trying to bring the United States back on certain key strategic issues or industries so that we have the capacity to have those jobs in the United States.

Terence (0:31)

ASEAN's biggest challenges?

Kevin Kim (0:32)

You have 11 different countries, different political systems, different stages of economic development, different religions. But yet, they all come together and work on small yet transformational things.

Terence (0:43)

And why a small state like Singapore remains important to the US?

Kevin Kim (0:47)

Countries like Singapore, they bet on the United States. And we also bet on Singapore because we think the future is also here. And that's also the reality.

Terence (0:55)

Of course, we also spoke about President Trump.

Kevin Kim (0:58)

He thinks, acts and implements at a level higher than most government people are operating. He has these big, big visions of revitalizing the United States.

Terence (1:08)

So can an America first superpower still be Southeast Asia's partner of choice?

Kevin Kim (1:13)

Our trade relationship in Southeast Asia is just one part of the relationship. It doesn't define the whole relationship.

Haresh (1:19)

Here at Yah Lah But, we like to bring on guests who are experts in their field. But often, it feels like the tech world is advancing so fast. There are too many people to speak to and not enough airtime. That's why we are going to Tech Week on 29th and 30th September at MBS. It is the most important tech event for businesses in Asia. Over four whole floors, Tech Week will combine the coolest innovations across five key areas of tech. You got AI, Cloud, Data, Cybersecurity and DevOps. And you'll get to hear from people at Google DeepMind, NVIDIA and Interpol, amongst many others. Because who better to tell you about the tech than the people working on the front line? And it's not only about speakers either. We went last year and met so many awesome people. Not just your regulars like you and me, but CEOs, startups, researchers, people who are basically doing seriously cool stuff. And guess what? It's free. One pass gives you access to everything. Just head to the link in the show notes to register. And now, on to the podcast.

What's up everybody? Welcome to another episode of Yah Lah.

Terence (2:23)

Ba ba ba ba.

Haresh (2:24)

Your Thrice Weekly Podcast, where we talk about the hottest news with a touch of what, Terence?

Terence (2:29)

Good old humor.

Haresh (2:30)

Good old humor, man. Today is a very special episode.

Terence (2:33)

It is.

Haresh (2:33)

Where we have a guest of Singapore.

Terence (2:36)

Yes. Not just, you know, guest of Singapore, like ASEAN, guest from ASEAN.

Haresh (2:43)

Yeah. From the United States of America. And I mean, it's, hopefully we can cover a lot of things that we ourselves have been wondering. So we'd like to welcome Kevin Kim, the US. Ambassador to ASEAN.

Welcome to Yah Lah But, man.

Terence (2:55)

Welcome.

Kevin Kim (2:56)

Super excited to be here. I've watched you guys from afar, you know, lying in bed, scrolling through YouTube, and then Yah Lah But pops up, and sometimes in YouTube shorts, sometimes in long form. And this is my first podcast ever. Podcast debut. Podcast debut.

This is hopefully the beginning of a second career, maybe, but in all seriousness, just super excited to be here in Singapore and to be with you guys. And I'm so grateful that you guys took the time to do this.

Terence (3:36)

And congratulations on the role. I mean, you're still quite new in the role, right? As the US. Ambassador to ASEAN. But I mean, could you just tell us a little bit about how you got started in politics in the first place?

Kevin Kim (3:50)

Oh, man, so I started working at the State Department about 15, 16 years ago. I started as an intern. All I ever wanted to do when I was younger was to work for America, to work for the good guys and to work for America. And I started as an intern and I just never wanted to leave.

And I began my career as an intelligence analyst.

And I worked a lot on Northeast Asia, Korea, Japan mostly. And then one day, President Trump decides he wants to have a cheeseburger with Chairman Kim Jong-un of North Korea. And I had worked a lot on North Korea issues. And I got exposed to higher level diplomacy. And of course, the Singaporean government deserves incredible credit for the work they did in hosting the summit in 2018