Malaysia, US seek trade deal before Trump’s October visit
The world’s largest economy ran a goods trade deficit with Malaysia of US$24.8 billion last year
[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia and the US aim to conclude their tariff talks before President Donald Trump’s October visit to Kuala Lumpur for the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) summit.
Malaysia’s Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Zafrul Aziz and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer agreed to work toward achieving a trade deal by the time of Trump’s visit, Zafrul said after his meeting with the US official in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday (Sep 25).
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in a Facebook post on Thursday that he spoke with Trump over the phone after meeting Greer, who is in Malaysia this week for the Asean economic ministers’ meeting. Anwar said he emphasised the importance of concluding the trade deal in his conversation with the US official, arguing that it will help businesses in both countries.
“We’ve been entrusted by both leaders that we must try and complete it, so I have to work on that basis,” Zafrul said. “I’m confident that we must try and complete it because I think it’s good for business to have that kind of certainty.”
The Asean Summit is scheduled to take place in Kuala Lumpur from Oct 26-28 as Malaysia helms the regional group this year. The meetings which Greer is attending this week represent the first high level gathering between the bloc and the US since Washington implemented so-called reciprocal tariffs in August.
The White House has announced 19 per cent tariffs on Malaysian goods – separate from sectoral levies.
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Zafrul said last month the two countries were still negotiating on some goods that Malaysia believed should be exempted from tariffs, such as agricultural or commodity products that the US is unable to produce. President Trump is also mulling levies on semiconductors, a move that the South-east Asian nation has said would be concerning.
The US is Malaysia’s third-largest market for chip exports.
“The semiconductor chain is quite complex and also critical for the safety of the United States and for Asean nations,” Greer said Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, when he was asked about whether Malaysia’s semiconductors would be safe from levies. “We have to have those supply chains back to the United States and the south-east Asian nations remain important as a source of the semiconductor chain.”
The South-east Asian nation has committed to over US$240 billion in US purchases and investments to reduce their trade gap. The world’s largest economy ran a goods trade deficit with Malaysia of US$24.8 billion last year, according to data from the Office of the US Trade Representative.
Malaysia is already facing some heat from the tariffs. Exports rose less than expected in August as shipments to the US fell 16.7 per cent year-on-year. The central bank last month cautioned that exports will slow for the rest of 2025, and in July lowered its growth forecast for the year to a range of 4 per cent to 4.8 per cent, from as high as 5.5 per cent. BLOOMBERG
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