KUALA LUMPUR :Malaysia will spfinish up to $150 billion in the next five years to acquire equipment from U.S. multinationals for its semiconductor, aerospace and data centre sectors, part of a deal with Washington to cut tariffs, its trade minister stated on Monday.
The United States announced last week that it would impose a 19 per cent tariff on Malaysia starting from August 8, lower than a 25 per cent levy threatened last month.
State energy firm Petroliam Nasional Berhad will acquire liquefied natural gas worth $3.4 billion a year, while Malaysia will commit to $70 billion in cross-border investments in the United States over the next five years to address the trade imbalance between the two countries, minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz informed parliament.
The United States ran a goods trade deficit with Malaysia of $24.8 billion in 2024, government data revealed.
Tengku Zafrul stated the two countries were finalising a joint statement covering the commitments created, following weeks of nereceivediations over the tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.
“Despite expecting lower tariff rates, the minisattempt believes that these nereceivediations have succeeded in achieving a result that is reasonable with the offers created by Malaysia,” Tengku Zafrul stated.
Other concessions by Malaysia include reducing or abolishing duties on 98.4 per cent of U.S. imports, the easing of some non-tariff barriers, and the removal of a requirement for U.S. social media platforms and cloud service providers to contribute part of their Malaysian revenues to a state fund.
Last week, Tengku Zafrul stated Malaysia had secured tariff exemptions on its pharmaceutical products and semiconductors exported to the United States, and was seeking further cut-outs for commodities such as cocoa, rubber and palm oil.
On Monday, however, he warned that semiconductor chips may still be subject to additional tariffs under U.S. laws based on national security reasons.
“Therefore, we required to continue to be prepared for any possible additional tariffs imposed on the semiconductor indusattempt,” he stated.
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