KUALA LUMPUR: Nearly RM200bil in exports to the United States, along with over a million jobs and 7,700 small and medium enterprises (SMEs), would have been at risk if market access to the United States were lost due to the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) not being concluded.
Investment, Trade and Industry Minister, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, said there was also a risk of a supply chain collapse and large-scale investment diversion to other countries.
"With the ART, the government's view is that Malaysia can maintain its competitiveness, especially globally, protect high-value exports - particularly in the electrical and electronics and semiconductor sectors - and provide confidence to investors," he said after briefing the Parliamentary Special Caucus on the ART on Thursday (Nov 27).
Tengku Zafrul said exports to the US in 2024 amounted to nearly RM200bil, while in 2025 they exceeded RM200bil.
The minister emphasised that the ART was a mechanism to protect the country's economy and had been agreed upon after careful consideration.
Tengku Zafrul said claims that the ART benefits only the US are not true, because the agreement also shields Malaysian exports from unilateral tariff actions and Malaysia, as a net exporter, gains significant benefits from guaranteed access to the US market.
He also pointed out that the assertion that the ART would constrain Malaysia's policies was incorrect, as the agreement does not require Malaysia to liberalise tariffs or open markets disproportionately, nor does it touch on sensitive issues such as food, data, defence or internal security.
Responding to claims that the ART would harm Malaysia-China relations, the minister said the ART was a trade agreement, not a geopolitical alliance.
"So we continue to strengthen our access to other markets such as the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA 3.0), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and the Asean-China platform," he added. – Bernama
