KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he has initiated high-level discussions with the United States following its decision to impose sweeping tariffs on Malaysia and over 180 other countries.
According to a report by Free Malaysia Today (FMT), Anwar said he had contacted individuals close to former US president Donald Trump, while Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan had received a call from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to continue negotiations.
“I have personally contacted several individuals close to (Donald) Trump,” Anwar was quoted as saying during a Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration in Melaka today.
“And yesterday, our foreign minister, Mohamad Hasan, received a call from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to continue negotiations.
“Every country in the world wants to be firm in defending its interests, but it will still leave room for negotiations,” he reportedly said.
Anwar added that he had also held discussions with Asean leaders to reach a consensus, and said he plans to contact leaders of China, Japan and South Korea to form a coordinated response.
According to FMT, the US announced a 24 per cent reciprocal tariff on Malaysia effective April 9, as part of an executive order signed by Trump. The administration claimed it was in response to Malaysia’s 47 per cent trade barriers — an assertion Putrajaya has denied.
Cambodia was the worst hit in Asean with a 49 per cent tariff, followed by Laos (48pc), Vietnam (46pc), Myanmar (45pc), Thailand (37pc), Indonesia (32pc), Brunei (24pc), the Philippines (18pc) and Singapore (10pc).
Anwar stressed that Malaysia could withstand the economic impact if Asean stood united and coordinated its response with other key Asian economies.
“Asean must be strong, but we must not act rashly because there is still no certainty about where these tariffs are heading, how far they will go, what relief or exemptions may exist, and whether further negotiations with the US are possible to ease the pressure,” he was quoted as saying.
“But Malaysia alone, or Thailand alone, or Indonesia alone will not be strong enough unless we harness the full strength of Asean as an economic bloc to negotiate with that sense of unity.
“I am confident, God willing, that we can overcome this together with wisdom and patience,” Anwar added.
