PETALLING JAYA: According to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the United States' decision to enforce punitive import duties on multiple nations such as Malaysia could put pressure on its commercial and investment ties with China.
He mentioned that the significant tariffs and taxes imposed by the US would directly impact Malaysia’s economy, which largely depends on global commerce, as reported by Bernama.
"This scenario not only influences China's economy but also has repercussions for Malaysia, despite us being temporarily exempt from these tariff implementations," he stated during the Kelantan state-level Aidilfitri Madani 2025 celebration in Bachok.
Anwar stated that being a trading and exporting country, Malaysia continues to be significantly susceptible to changes in international trade policies.
We are a nation involved in exports and trade. If the US puts high tariffs on China, naturally we will experience the effects as well.
Thankfully, the US has temporarily halted the enforcement of these duties on various ASEAN nations such as Malaysia. Nonetheless, China continues to be subjected to these tariffs.
Recently, US President Donald Trump declared a temporary halt to increased tariffs for 90 days on certain nations amid the intensifying trade conflict with China.
Earlier, Malaysia faced a 24% reciprocal tariff. Although this increase has been put on hold temporarily, a consistent 10% base tariff continues to apply to all nations with the exception of China, which is still facing the elevated rate.
Malaysia plans to dispatch a trade mission to the United States to contest the new high tariffs and aims to get clearer explanations on how these rates were determined.
The Investment, Trade, and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz contends that the true average tariff applied to U.S. imports is approximately 5.6%, rather than the 47% cited by the U.S., which led to the imposition of a 24% duty.
