In April this year, the United States announced the imposition of a 24 percent tariff on all exports from Malaysia, but this has been increased to a blanket 25 percent beginning Aug 1, separate from all sectoral tariffs.

American president Donald Trump, however, stated that the higher tariff is not enough to fix the trade imbalance between the two countries but the tariff won’t apply to Malaysian companies that choose to build or manufacture products in the US.

Trump promised speedy approvals for such investments by Malaysian companies, taking only “a matter of weeks,” and warned that if Malaysia imposed its own tariffs, the US would simply stack those on top of the 25 percent rate.

This announcement by Donald Trump to Malaysian prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, coincides with the visit of the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio in Kuala Lumpur for the Asean-US Post Ministerial Conference being held now.

Malaysia, through Investment, Trade and Industry Minister, Tengku Zafrul, is calling on the US to engage in a constructive dialogue and engagement between the two countries for a win-win situation to emerge.

The US is Malaysia’s second largest trading partner and its top export destination. In 2024, the total trade between the two countries reached RM325 billion and it is a deeply intertwined economic relationship.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE