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Malaysia vows to buy more US goods in break from united Asean front on Trump’s tariffs
Malaysia is looking for ways to reduce its US$25 billion trade surplus with the US in a bid to ease the pain of a proposed 24 per cent levy
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Malaysia, facing a punishing 24 per cent tariff on its exports to the United States, announced on Friday that it would increase its imports of American goods instead of imposing retaliatory tariffs – signalling a weakening of any united regional front against the pressures of a trade war.
Southeast Asian nations are increasingly succumbing to external pressures and pursuing individual agreements with the US as President Donald Trump’s White House threatens blanket levies on export-dependent countries and China calls on its regional allies to call Washington’s bluff.
On Friday, Malaysia said it would negotiate ways to reduce its US$25 billion trade surplus with the US, including by easing access for American goods coming into the country, as it hunts for a reduction or exemption to tariffs.
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The levies are likely to crush US demand for everything from furniture to scientific equipment and electric heaters, and shred growth forecasts.
Malaysia’s trade ministry sent a delegation to Washington this week, led by Trade Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, who carried a message of “openness to negotiate”.
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