Trade deal with US offers stability for Malaysian exporters
Thousands of Malaysian jobs linked to trade with the United States are expected to benefit from the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (MNTV) — Thousands of Malaysian jobs linked to trade with the United States are expected to benefit from the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART), signed recently with Washington, The Star reported.
Malaysia’s priority in negotiations was to ease the burden of tariffs imposed by the U.S. earlier this year. As an export-oriented economy, maintaining competitive costs is essential — and the ART helped reduce tariffs from the initially proposed 24–25% down to 19% when the deal was finalised on October 26.
The agreement places Malaysia on more even footing with regional competitors that have similar export profiles. Businesses expressed relief that Malaysia’s negotiation team, led by Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Zafrul Abdul Aziz, approached the issue pragmatically.
Industry leaders say the most important outcome is certainty, which allows companies to plan production, pricing, and long-term investments with confidence.
The US remains one of Malaysia’s largest trading partners. Malaysia has consistently recorded surpluses with Washington, though last year the surplus narrowed to around 25 billion ringgit (about $6 billion), down from 40 billion ringgit (around $9.6 billion) four years earlier.
The US is Malaysia’s largest export market, accounting for 200 billion ringgit (roughly $48.4 billion) in goods, with semiconductors forming the backbone of the trade relationship.
Analysts warn that critics of the ART must consider Malaysia’s position in a highly competitive global export ecosystem. Major economies — including China, the EU, Japan, South Korea, and Canada — are all negotiating trade terms with the U.S.
As an open economy heavily dependent on exports, Malaysia “must remain practical” in its engagement with global partners, commentators stress.
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