MITI’s Tengku Zafrul to lead Malaysian delegation to Washington later this month for US tariff talks

Minister of investment, trade and industry Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz will lead Malaysia’s delegation to Washington to discuss the reciprocal tariffs imposed by the United States on Malaysia.

According to Bernama, the delegation, which is set to arrive in the US at the end of this month, will include ministry of investment, trade and industry (MITI) deputy secretary-general Mastura Ahmad Mustafa, other MITI officials as well as MITI representatives at Malaysia’s embassy in Washington.

“Malaysia’s position, as announced by prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, is that we must remain calm while at the same time engage and understand the issues that we feel are unfair to Malaysia,” said Zafrul.

“We do not want to see an escalation. A trade war will not benefit anyone. That is our opinion. We will continue our communication efforts. Our group in Washington is already working, we have a meeting in Washington and also a meeting at the World Trade Organisation (WTO),” he continued, noting that the ministry will ensure that Malaysia’s interests are safeguarded.

Zafrul was also asked if individual member states engaging the US separately contradicts ASEAN’s call for a single voice. “ASEAN, as a bloc, is quite sizeable with a combined gross domestic product of close to USD3.8 trillion (about RM17 trillion), making us the fifth largest economic bloc globally. In areas of common interest, it is important that we work together and speak as one,” he replied.

“However, each ASEAN country also has a different level of economic development and its own trade dynamics. If you look at the trade deficit of different countries in ASEAN, it is due to different reasons. But what is important is that we must all stick together on the principles,” he added.

Tariff rates imposed by the US include a 10% baseline, to which an individualised rate is tacked on depending on whether the country made it to US president Donald Trump’s “naughty list.” Cambodia is facing a tax totalling 49%, while Laos (48%), Vietnam (46%) and Myanmar (44%) are also above the 40% mark.

Other ASEAN countries affected are Thailand (36%), Indonesia (32%), Brunei (24%), Malaysia (24%) and the Philippines (17%), while Singapore is only subject to the baseline 10%. The baseline rate has already gone into effect on April 5, while individualised tariffs will be active from April 9.

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