Malaysia got it right on tariffs, avoided hasty reaction — Nazir
KUALA LUMPUR: Asean Business Advisory Council (Asean-BAC) chairman Tan Sri Nazir Razak has commended the government for its measured and strategic response to tariff pressure from the United States (US).
He said Malaysia had shown "astute" leadership by not reacting hastily or emotionally to the trade actions imposed by US President Donald Trump's administration.
"Those who have covered me for a long time know that I do not compliment easily, but I really think that our government has been very astute in its handling of the tariff situation.
"When you break it down, how has Malaysia's response been? First, Malaysia remained calm. Second, we engaged to identify whether this issue was mere rhetoric or something serious.
"Third, we developed a strategy, and fourth, only then were we ready to negotiate. I think that is absolutely the right way to handle the situation," he said at Asean-BAC's media briefing on the progress of its 12 economic initiatives, here, today.
Nazir said Malaysia's response stood in contrast to that of many other countries, which reacted too hastily or with excessive aggression.
On non-tariff barriers, Nazir described it as a region-wide issue in Asean, pointing out a clear correlation between the decline in tariffs and the increase in non-tariff barriers.
"I think at last count, there's something like 9,642 non tariff barriers across Asean, with one of the difficulties Asean always faces is that there's no clear enforcement mechanism to bring down non tariff barriers.
"From the private sector, I agree that there are a lot of frustrations with non tariff barriers," he said.
Nazir said that as Malaysia enters negotiations with the US, it presents an opportunity to revisit issues raised by businesses.
He highlighted the existence of a mechanism called Asean Assist, which allows companies — including small and medium enterprises — to go online and report non-tariff barriers in any Asean country that they believe should not exist.
"Unfortunately, the take up rate is very low. Why? Because there is no sense that something will be done about it," he added.
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