KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia will lead efforts to coordinate a regional response in South-east Asia towards US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, the country’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said.
“Malaysia, as Asean chair, will lead efforts to present a united regional front, maintain open and resilient supply chains, and ensure Asean’s collective voice is heard clearly and firmly on the international stage,” Datuk Seri Anwar said during a video address posted on his social media channels, including Facebook, late on April 6.
In a separate post, Mr Anwar said he had a call with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on a collective response by the region. Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto was also due to meet Mr Anwar on April 6 evening, according to local media reports in Indonesia.
Countries in Asean – a collective grouping of 10 countries in the region – are among those hardest hit by US tariffs. Vietnam and Cambodia were slapped with 46 per cent and 49 per cent tariff rates, respectively, by the Trump administration, while Malaysia received a 24 per cent rate.
Like its regional peers, Malaysia had opted not to retaliate against the tariffs while seeking engagement, but has refuted the Trump administration’s claim that it imposes a 47 per cent tariff on US goods.
Mr Anwar said the government has set up a geo-economic command centre, and said efforts were already under way to engage the US to find a “mutually acceptable solution”. He said Malaysia’s response will be “calm, firm and guided by Malaysia’s national interests”.
He reiterated earlier assertions that the country won’t enter into a recession due to the tariffs, but said that the government may review its gross domestic product growth targets for 2025 should the tariffs come into effect on April 9.
“We must acknowledge that this round of sweeping tariffs may just be the beginning of greater challenges to come in the external economy,” the prime minister said. Bloomberg
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