KUALA LUMPUR: The agreement allowing unrestricted rare earth exports to the US does not grant exclusive rights to America, clarified Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz. He emphasised that Malaysia currently imposes no export restrictions on these materials to any nation.
The terms, part of the Malaysia-US trade negotiations under Section 5 – Economic and National Security, also address controls on AI chip exports from the US to certain countries. Malaysia will enforce stricter measures under the Strategic Trade Act 2010 starting July 14, 2025.
Tengku Zafrul noted that tariff negotiations expanded beyond US requests, resulting in Malaysia offering reduced or eliminated import duties for 98.4% of tariff lines. Sales tax exemptions for US agricultural imports like fruits and seafood were agreed upon, though excise duties remain.
Local industry protections stay intact, with no blanket exemptions for US import licenses or full foreign equity liberalisation in strategic sectors. Bumiputera equity requirements are also upheld.
On digital services tax (DST), Malaysia applies non-discriminatory policies. The government will no longer require US social media and cloud providers to contribute 6% of revenue to the Universal Service Provision Fund. A directive redirecting DNS traffic to local services was also repealed.
To prevent trade loopholes, MITI will exclusively issue Non-Preferential Certificates of Origin for US-bound exports starting May 6, 2025. – Bernama
