By Chayut Setboonsarng, Martin Petty and Huey Mun Leong BANGKOK/KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) -Southeast Asian countries breathed a sigh of relief on Friday after the U.S. announced tariffs on their exports that were far lower than threatened and levelled the playing field with a rate of about 19% across the region's biggest economies.

Asia-Pacific equity markets fell broadly, after President Trump announced steeper tariffs against dozens of countries while delaying the effective date by a week.