Vietnam's government said on Thursday it would set up a task force and other Southeast Asian nations said they plan to seek talks with Washington as they reel from being hit with some of U.S. President Donald Trump's heftiest tariffs.

Trump increased the blanket tariff on Chinese imports to 54 percent and imposed new duties on major trading partners including Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

Export manufacturing and free trade helped transform China and other Asian countries into economic powerhouses