Too early to tell if US tariffs will have impact on Malaysia, says Anwar

 The prime minister says the Trump administration has agreed to further negotiate with Malaysia.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said it will be problematic if the US government were to impose tariffs on semiconductors. (Bernama pic)

SHAH ALAM:

 It is too early to gauge if the tariffs imposed by the US will have an impact on Malaysia, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said.

Anwar said the potential impact could not be assessed just yet as Donald Trump’s administration has announced a 90-day pause on the 24% “reciprocal tariff” imposed on most Malaysian goods.

However, he said Malaysia would encounter difficulties if tariffs were to be imposed on semiconductors.

Malaysia is the second-largest semiconductor manufacturer in the world, with 60% of its exports going to the US.

“If they say no more Malaysian semiconductors, then we may have a problem. For now, it is excluded,” he said.

Earlier today, Anwar told a special Dewan Rakyat sitting on the US tariffs that the 24% rate could be reduced.

He said the US government has agreed to negotiate further with Malaysia.

“And if we succeed, there is a possibility that the US will reduce the reciprocal tariff imposed on Malaysia,” he said.

Anwar said tariffs have a negative impact on global supply chains and trade, especially on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which would be “disruptive to Asean’s economic stability”.

He announced RM1 billion in measures to help SMEs affected by the tariff announcement secure loans from commercial banks.

He said the government had also approved an additional RM500 million in soft loans offered through development financial institutions to assist the affected SME entrepreneurs. - FMT