Stephen Olson, who was a member of the US negotiating team for two free trade agreements, said Malaysian officials “should begin the process of feeling out the Trump administration as soon as possible”.
Malaysian trade negotiators should present their best arguments to the US on the benefits of their trade relationship and identify exactly what Trump might want, Olson said.
While Trump enjoys the negotiating leverage that tariffs provide, he is “always willing to consider a deal”, said Olson, who is a visiting senior fellow of the Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.
He said in some cases in the past, Trump had been willing to adjust or pause tariffs for relatively minor concessions. “It’s unclear what his price will be in this case – it may or may not be onerous.”
However, it would be a mistake to view Trump’s tariff policy as a negotiating ploy, Olson told FMT.
“If he is not able to extract the concessions he desires, he will be perfectly willing to keep the tariffs in place and potentially escalate them over time.
“He is the self proclaimed ‘tariff man’ and is very serious about using tariffs to restore US industry,” he said.
On Wednesday, Trump announced a so-called “reciprocal” tariff of 24% on Malaysian goods imported into the US, among a raft of levies imposed on more than 180 countries and territories.
Several White House officials said the tariffs are non-negotiable. However, Trump has said he would be open to talks on reducing the tariff rates if other countries could offer something “phenomenal” in return.
On Friday, the investment, trade and industry ministry said the government would continue to engage with the US to find an “amicable and fair solution” to the tariff.
A special meeting of Asean economic ministers will be held on April 10 to discuss Asean’s coordinated response to the US tariffs.
The US imposed tariffs of 49% on Cambodia, 46% on Vietnam, 36% on Thailand, 32% on Indonesia, and 10% on Singapore.
Universiti Malaya senior lecturer Goh Lim Thye told FMT it is possible that Trump’s tariffs are intended as a negotiation tactic, a strategy he used during his first term in office to apply initial pressure before forcing better terms.
“But the global context has changed. The way these tariffs are being imposed, unilaterally and without prior consultation, makes them look less like negotiation and more like economic coercion,” he said.
Goh said other major economies appear increasingly unwilling to play along with Trump.
French president Emmanuel Macron’s call on EU companies to freeze investments in the US was a significant signal of frustration and strategic recalibration, he said.
He said it was likely there would be closer regional cooperation across the globe, with nations expanding trade and investment avenues to move away from American-dominated frameworks.
“In effect, the US is isolating itself, imposing the economic equivalent of self-sanctions. Such a strategy may resonate politically at home, but it risks long-term damage to American competitiveness and global influence,” he said. - FMT
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