KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is likely to see minimal impact from the United States’ decision to impose a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports into the country, says Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz
The Investment, Trade and Industry Minister said this was because there is an ongoing moratorium on the expansion and diversification of the steel industry in Malaysia.
“Therefore, whatever happens in the United States, we are not a major exporter of steel and aluminium.
“Our biggest exports to the United States are electrical and electronics products (E&E).
“The export of steel and aluminium is really insignificant. So, I don’t see any impact from there,” said Tengku Zafrul during a press conference at the China Conference Southeast Asia organised by Hong Kong-based news outlet South China Morning Post at a hotel in KL on Feb 17.
Tengku Zafrul said there are concerns over US President Donald Trump’s announcement of 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports.
“We have seen the impact of decisions that have been made in China and some of the decisions in other parts of the world.
“So, for Asean, it is normal to expect that we may have to face the same. But, what’s important is we address some of those concerns,” said Tengku Zafrul.
On Feb 10, Trump raised tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to 25% without any exceptions and exemptions, in a move to aid struggling industries in the US.
Meanwhile, Tengku Zafrul said Putrajaya is optimistic that it could conclude the upgrade of the China-Asean free trade agreement.
“It is an important upgrade to cover the digital economy, to cover the green economy, especially,” he said.
Tengku Zafrul also said that since the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement came to place, trade between China and Asean has increased considerably.
Since 2009, China has been Asean’s largest trading partner with bilateral trade volume reaching US$546.6bil in the first seven months this year.
Among the 10 Asean member countries, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia were China’s top trade partners, with a turnover of up to 13.7%, 24.1% and 4.1%, respectively, according to statistics by the Chinese General Administration of Customs (GAC).
