Malaysia to send officials to US to discuss tariff

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim delivering his keynote address at the Asean Investment Conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

KUALA LUMPUR: 

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim today said that Malaysia would send officials to the US to discuss the 24% tariff recently imposed on Malaysian imports.

He said Malaysia’s trade with the US had long been a model of mutual gain, with its exports supporting Malaysia’s growth and high-quality jobs across the US.

But while the Malaysia-US trade relationship had served both countries well, he said the tariff might have a negative impact on both economies.

“We do not believe in megaphone diplomacy,” Anwar said in his keynote address at the Asean Investment Conference here.

“As part of our soft diplomacy of quiet engagement, we will be despatching our officials to Washington to begin the process of dialogue.”

On April 2, US president Donald Trump announced a series of new tariffs that directly increased import duties on several of Washington’s Southeast Asian trading partners.

The hardest hit were Cambodia with a basic tariff of 49%, followed by Laos (48%), Vietnam (46%), and Myanmar (44%).

Thailand faces a tariff of 36%, Indonesia 32%, Brunei and Malaysia 24% each, the Philippines 17%, and Singapore 10%. - FMT

MORE TO COME