KUALA LUMPUR: Penang will be among the states most affected by the United States’ implementation of reciprocal tariffs, says its Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
He said RM76bil or 17% of Penang’s exports are bound for the United States, which accounts for the second highest export value from Penang.
"It is one of our main trading partners, with a trade surplus of RM57.7bil last year.
“Therefore, the implementation of the tariffs might have a serious impact one Penang (among) other states in Malaysia,” the Batu Kawan MP said in his speech at the special Dewan Rakyat sitting on Monday (May 5) to discuss the impact of US tariffs.
To mitigate the impact, Chow said Penang formed a tariff monitoring task force and introduced an adaptation toolkit to help exporters and SMEs navigate the evolving trade landscape.
Chow urged the Federal Government to work with all state governments to help SMEs in weathering the economic uncertainty.
He also commended Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz and Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan for leading a successful delegation to Washington, DC recently.
“We are confident that this negotiation will bring about a mutually beneficial solution based on trust and fairness,” he added.
Chow said it is also important to have a long-term solution to strengthen relations between Malaysia and the United States in trade.
“One of the important steps is to appoint an ambassador there. This is important, not just to represent our interests, but to carry out voices and aspirations to the highest level of US leadership.
“We can’t keep sending ministers to Washington, DC each time,” he added.
He said Asean should also have a special summit with the United States to express the grouping's economic aspirations.
“Asean must... (speak) out as a united bloc,” he added.
The tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump on April 2 include a sweeping 10% baseline duty on all countries and a steeper 24% levy specifically on Malaysian goods.
Trump then announced a 90-day pause on their implementation, except for China.
