KUALA LUMPUR: US President Donald Trump has announced a 25 per cent tariff on all Malaysian products entering the United States, effective August 1.
The move, detailed in a letter to His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, the King of Malaysia, marks a sharp escalation in US-Malaysia trade relations.
Trump cited Malaysia’s “Tariff, and Non Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers” as the basis for the decision.
The president claimed the US has suffered “many years” of unsustainable trade deficits with Malaysia.
He described the imbalance as a threat to both the US economy and national security.
Trump further expressed disappointment over the lack of reciprocity in the bilateral trading relationship.
“Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from Reciprocal,” he wrote in the letter dated July 7.
He added that goods transshipped to avoid the tariff would still face the highest applicable rate.
Trump suggested that Malaysia could avoid the new tariff by encouraging companies to manufacture in the US.
“There will be no Tariff if Malaysia, or companies within your Country, decide to build or manufacture product within the United States,” he wrote.
The letter left open the possibility of further tariff hikes if Malaysia raised its own trade barriers.
Trump said any increase in Malaysian tariffs would be matched by equivalent US tariff additions.
The letter appeared to blend formal diplomacy with campaign-style rhetoric aimed at domestic audiences.
He also highlighted the US market as the world’s most attractive, calling it “the Number One Market in the World, by far.”
