Second Trump presidency could benefit Malaysia, says Tengku Zafrul
Malaysia could benefit if Donald Trump wins a second presidential term, as he might renew the trade war against China, said Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
The Investment, Trade, and Industry Minister told reporters on Thursday (July 18) that Malaysia's neutral stance could attract firms operating in China to relocate to Malaysia, as well as other countries in the region such as Singapore and Vietnam, to avoid the increased US tariffs Trump has pledged to impose if he returns to power.
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The Investment, Trade, and Industry Minister told reporters on Thursday (July 18) that Malaysia's neutral stance could attract firms operating in China to relocate to Malaysia, as well as other countries in the region such as Singapore and Vietnam, to avoid the increased US tariffs Trump has pledged to impose if he returns to power.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Trump is re-elected as the President, and he is projected to put pressure on Asian economies.
00:05So how is our government preparing for this possibility?
00:09This is not new, but I think what people are expecting, can it be worse under a new President,
00:16assuming Donald Trump wins, whether he will accelerate some of the tariff that we have
00:24seen recently. Because the recent tariff increase also is under Biden, as you know, even for
00:29EVs up to 100%, taxes for, and then some other tax for semiconductor, not tax, sorry, tariff,
00:36especially from China. So here for Malaysia, I must admit, and even for the region, what
00:44has happened is that it has benefited this region, especially Malaysia and Vietnam and
00:52Singapore, because not only are we part of many multilateral agreements, but we are seen
00:59as a country that is neutral. So the products that are coming from our side now have seen
01:05an increase in market, because obviously it is more competitive in pricing as they don't
01:11get to the tariff. So the question will be, will they look at whether those companies
01:19are Chinese companies in Malaysia? Because any companies from China, regardless, it could
01:24be American companies in China, it could be European companies, they still get tariff.
01:28So for now, the question is whether those companies will move from China to this region
01:36and then will not get the tariff. For now, the answer is yes, but we are monitoring it.
01:42But for us, we are seeing more and more increase in exports because of this, as our companies
01:50that are exporting from here become more competitive, because they are not being hit
01:57on this tariff.