April 4, 2025
PETALING JAYA – Leveraging on Asean and the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) can help Malaysia navigate the challenges posed by US President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs on 48 nations, say business groups.
The Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Malaysia (ACCIM) treasurer-general Datuk Koong Lin Loong said Malaysia, as Asean chair, could play a pivotal role in increasing intra-trade among Asean nations and other countries.
“We can make Malaysia a regional hub to attract investment but we have to relook at the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP) to make adjustments in light of the recent developments.
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“We also have the JS-SEZ which can become the Asean Shezhen.However, we need to speed things up and work faster to develop the JS-SEZ,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Koong noted that Malaysia could also play a role in further promoting trade among Asean Plus nations such as China to offset the impact of the tariffs.
“Apart from this, the Asean Summit will also involve meetings with the Gulf Cooperation Council which could be used to step up trade between the two regions,” he said, adding that Africa is also another market that should be tapped.
“The government has to speed up the Malaysia-European Union Free Trade Agreement negotiation, the Gulf Cooperation Council – Malaysia Free Trade Agreement, as well as consider to negotiate a Free Trade Agreement with the US to soften the impact of tariffs.”
Although the tariffs may have a short and mid-term impact on some products, he said certain sectors may be exempted from the tariffs.
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“There are still uncertainties if there is an exemption list on whether steel and pharmaceutical products are not included,” he said, adding that semiconductors are so far exempted.
Small and Medium Enterprises Association Malaysia (Samenta) national president Datuk William Ng also said there is now a greater urgency to lower non-tariff barriers to increase trade among Asean nations instead of relying on larger economies such as the US, China and Europe.
“It is very clear that the future must be about ‘prospering thy neighbour’. The discussion on creating a single Asean market must be reopened immediately, with the aim of creating some semblance of a customs union that can benefit us both as an exporting bloc and as a large regional market,” he said when contacted.
For Malaysian SMEs, he said they must urgently move away from the concept of “Made in Malaysia” to “Made by Malaysia”.
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“Focus should be on our production in economies within Asean which possess lower production costs while also reinforcing our research and development including innovations domestically,” he added.
Although there are still some uncertainties as to the full impact of tariffs on the affected economies, he said it is likely to be minimal to moderate with goods imported from the US likely to be more affected in the mid-term.
Ng voiced concern that local SMEs could face stiff competition due to dumping by economies affected by the tariffs.
“What we really should be looking out for is potential dumping from affected economies, especially the large manufacturing hubs.
“This will have a higher repercussion for our SMEs than the direct tariffs on exports to the US,” he said.
SME Association of Malaysia president Chin Chee Seong said Asean could be a key market but there are currently obstacles which hamper the growth of intra-trade among Asean members.
“The issue is that even if Asean comprises 10 nations, we are still not united in terms of trade as each has its own rules,” he said.
Chin however expressed confidence that Malaysia, as Asean Chair, can play a pivotal role in promoting greater regional trade.
Bumiputera Retailers Organisation Malaysia adviser Datuk Ameer Ali Mydin said there should not be any tit-for-tat retaliatory statements from the government but to take a wait-and-see approach.
“Let the dust settle and don’t react immediately. We still need to know what sort of products will be impacted because semiconductors are exempted.
“Trump may find that the tariffs will have a negative impact on the US and may pull back some, like what he did previously,” he said.
Ameer Ali suggested that the government meet stakeholders from affected industries to see how to cushion the impact of the tariffs on their businesses.