Malaysia’s ‘China plus one’ gold rush stumbles over a US tariff threat
Job losses and factory closures loom as Washington’s anti-China trade policies threaten to derail Malaysia’s economic aspirations
“Of course, we were all sad, but we just have to accept it as God’s will. It was a nice place to work and the salary was good,” said Benny, who asked that This Week in Asia withhold his full name due to confidentiality clauses tied to his lay-off.
On May 15, US authorities launched an anti-dumping investigation into solar panel exports from the four, responding to a petition from the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee. A two-year exemption from anti-dumping scrutiny the countries had previously enjoyed expired on June 6.
Just weeks later, Benny’s employer – one of the world’s largest solar module suppliers – laid him off as part of a broader downsizing. Jinko Solar has not commented on the closure of its Penang facility after nine years. Yet in a June interview, Li Zhenguo, founder of rival Longi, which operates in Malaysia’s Selangor, voiced concerns about the industry’s future amid a “clearly determined” US strategy to safeguard its solar market. “The question is if we should shut down factories in Southeast Asia or keep them as a backup,” he said, as reported by the Beijing-based Green Energy Daily.