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Secretary Rubio Speaks with the Traveling Press in Kuala Lumpur, Jul. 11, 2025

July 11, 2025 · U.S. Department of State · 0:22:41

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with the traveling press in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 11, 2025, wrapping up his first trip to Asia as Secretary of State, according to the State Department broadcast.

Rubio described the trip’s engagements as “very positive,” saying trade and tariffs came up in every meeting because, as he put it, “this is a global action”; he noted the tariff baseline would take effect August 1, with opportunities for adjustments based on arrangements made before then, and pointed to a memorandum of understanding signed with the host country and further elevations of strategic partnerships to be announced. He called the United States “a Pacific nation” and warned against the concentration of key industrial components in one or two countries, saying the loss of industrial capacity leaves the United States and many other countries vulnerable.

Why it matters

The Kuala Lumpur readout ties Rubio’s Asia diplomacy directly to the administration’s trade reset and supply-chain agenda — the Secretary carrying the tariff framework’s diplomatic side in the region it most affects.

Scoreboard watch

Scoreboard watch: the August 1 tariff-baseline date and the partnership announcements Rubio previewed here, each as stated by the Secretary, to be checked against what followed.

Sources: U.S. Department of State, official upload (embedded above). Remarks as delivered 2025-07-11; transcript reviewed in the site’s private research store; full transcript at state.gov.