Malaysia is likely to see minimal impact from the United States’ decision to impose a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports into the country, says Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.
The Investment, Trade and Industry Minister said this was because there is an ongoing moratorium on the expansion and diversification of the steel industry in Malaysia.
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The Investment, Trade and Industry Minister said this was because there is an ongoing moratorium on the expansion and diversification of the steel industry in Malaysia.
Read more at https://tinyurl.com/44wxk248
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
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NewsTranscript
00:00To begin, we would like to invite YB7 to the stage.
00:05Pleasure. Right now, for steel and aluminum, we have a moratorium on any new plants or expansion of steel and aluminum.
00:13We feel there is already overcapacity in the country.
00:17And therefore, whatever happens in the US, we are not a major exporter to steel and aluminum.
00:25One of the biggest exports to the US is E&E. Export of steel and aluminum is really insignificant.
00:30So I don't see any impact on that.
00:33Coming into ASEAN, and specifically Malaysia and certain sectors,
00:38with the whole US-China trade war, do you think this would put Malaysia in a position where Malaysia could also be under tariffs at one point in time?
00:52Are you concerned about that, with more Chinese companies coming here?
00:56We have Chinese companies coming to ASEAN and to Malaysia, Singapore as well, don't forget, and also Vietnam.
01:05ASEAN has been a net recipient of FDI coming from China and the US, despite the decline in global FDI.
01:13We've seen FDI into ASEAN being in a positive territory.
01:17Why is that? I think we've seen Trump 1.0, and then Biden, and now Trump 2.0.
01:23We've seen more flows coming in as companies realign their supply chain,
01:28sometimes mirroring geopolitics as we continue to live in this very multipolar world.
01:34So for Malaysia, we really believe in multilateralism.
01:38We believe in the platform that exists today.
01:40And ASEAN, as long as we continue to be neutral and we approach together,
01:46and that's why we talk a lot about ASEAN centrality, that's important.
01:50So for us, if you look at what are the concerns, if there are concerns that the US about technology,
01:59for example, some restriction on that, things that we are able to address,
02:07we have laws here in Malaysia and other ASEAN countries.
02:11As long as it's within the laws of the country,
02:16we will definitely continue to support investments from any countries, including China and the US.
02:22So to your question whether we're concerned about this tariff, I think the whole world is concerned about the tariff.
02:28We've seen what decision has been made in the neighboring countries, countries who are close to the US.
02:33We've seen the impact of decisions that have been made in China and some of the decisions also in other parts of the world.
02:43So for ASEAN, it's normal to expect that we may have to face the same,
02:49but what's important is we address some of that concerns and engage.
02:54I think that's going to be key going forward.