PUTRAJAYA: The 90-day pause on tariffs announced by United States President Donald Trump is welcome relief for the Malaysian economy, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
"Malaysia is involved in the postponement of US tariff hikes, and this pause is a good relief for us for the time being," said the Prime Minister at a Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house at the Energy Transition and Water Transformation Ministry hosted by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof on Thursday (April 10).
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This follows Trump’s announcement on Wednesday (April 9) pausing planned tariff hikes on most countries for 90 days, a move aimed at calming jittery markets after a period of volatility.
However, he intensified tariffs on China, raising them to 125% citing Beijing’s "lack of respect" in trade dealings.
Trump said he had been monitoring market reactions and bond performance and decided to delay the tariff increases.
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However, he reaffirmed his intent to secure trade deals with all countries, including China.
On April 3, Trump announced that the United States would impose a baseline 10% tariff on all countries, with higher duties for certain nations.
Indochina countries were most affected by the tariffs – with Cambodia facing a combined baseline and retaliatory duty of 49%, followed by Laos (48%), Vietnam (46%), Myanmar (44%), Thailand (36%), Indonesia (32%), Brunei and Malaysia (24%), the Philippines (17%) and Singapore (10%).
