KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will implement three major initiatives—exporter outreach, regulatory reforms, and nationwide supply chain mapping—following its recent tariff agreement with the US. The deal reduces tariffs on Malaysian goods from 25% to 19%, effective August 1.
Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz stated the agreement resulted from “months of intense but thorough as well as methodical negotiations” without compromising Malaysia’s “red lines” in strategic sectors. “Most importantly, we achieved this without conceding on our red lines in key areas,“ he said during his keynote at The Edge Malaysia Centurion Club Awards 2025.
Protected areas include foreign equity limits in strategic industries, digital legal safeguards, and halal standards. “The negotiation package was a full-of-nation offer, not just the government, but all (of you)—many companies contributed to that,“ he added.
Post-deal, the government’s focus includes:
1. **Exporter Outreach:** Engaging SMEs and multinationals to mitigate tariff impacts.
2. **Regulatory Reform:** Cutting bureaucratic overlaps and outdated rules.
3. **Supply Chain Mapping:** Strengthening industrial roles in global supply chains.
Tengku Zafrul highlighted Malaysia’s mid-cap companies (RM100m–RM1b market cap) as vital to the New Industrial Master Plan 2030. “As of March 31, there are 519 such Centurions, critical to our national economic aspirations,“ he noted. – Bernama