Malaysia on track to hit 2025 trade target, says Tengku Zafrul
KUALA LUMPUR : Malaysia remains on course to meet its 2025 trade growth target of 4%-5%, despite signs of moderating global trade, says investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz.
'We're still on track to reach our growth target. If you look at our growth target, around 4% to 5%, that will still be achievable,' he told a press conference at Menara Miti here today.
While acknowledging that some trade might have been front-loaded over the past five months, Tengku Zafrul said he expected the momentum to continue.
'We'll be releasing the latest trade figures for June this Friday, so you'll be able to see the numbers then.'
On the ongoing tariff negotiations with the US, Tengku Zafrul said both sides were making progress.
'We had a productive discussion, our team and I, together with the office of the US trade representative. We're now exploring various tariff and non-tariff items where we can reach an agreement.'
He said one of the key issues raised by the US was the liberalisation of foreign equity restrictions in certain strategic sectors.
'As you know, Malaysia has equity restrictions for foreign shareholders in certain sectors. There's a request for us to relook or liberalise those sectors.
'We need to consult those industries, whether we are ready to relax those equity shareholding restrictions,' he said.
Tengku Zafrul however stressed that not all US requests would be accepted.
'We are working to meet this new deadline (Aug 1), but not at the expense of agreeing to every request. Some of the requests we feel may not be fair to Malaysia.'
Room for flexibility
On the tariff structure under discussion, Tengku Zafrul said there might be room for flexibility on a sector-by-sector basis.
'There will be opportunities for us to negotiate tariffs below 10% for certain sectors. But at the same time, we cannot depend solely on this trade negotiation.'
He pointed to the current status of key sectors such as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.
'For example, pharmaceuticals are in a better position. Right now, tariffs for both the semiconductor and pharmaceutical sectors are at zero. Naturally, we want to maintain that 0% tariff, but whether we can secure that is another matter.'
On the potential impact of tariff changes on the Johor-Singapore special economic zone, Tengku Zafrul said investors were holding off until there was greater clarity.
'There seems to be a wait-and-see attitude. Investors are watching how the tariff scenario plays out before recalculating their positions. That calculation can only happen once there's certainty.'
On July 8, US president Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on Malaysia, effective Aug 1.
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