Malaysian businesses concern over new US tariff impact

With just one month left before the US imposes a 24% tariff on all Malaysian goods exports, exporters are expressing concerns that more than half of them will be negatively affected if Malaysia fails to secure a deal, as reported by the local English-language newspaper The Star.

President Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) warned that such pressures could force some companies, especially those in cost-sensitive sectors like electrical machinery services (EMS), which supports US-linked manufacturing operations in Malaysia, to scale back operations.

The combined effects of order cuts, shrinking margins and prolonged cost pressures could have serious repercussions for the country’s export-reliant industries, he said.

Malay Economic Action Council senior fellow Ahmad Yazid Othman said, in principle, the council’s position is that Malaysia must accept that tariffs would be imposed.

“We hope that the government will do more to spur domestic consumption and be prepared that tariffs will increase,” he said as quoted by The Star./.