KUALA LUMPUR: Parliament has approved the Countervailing and Anti-Dumping Duties (Amendment) Bill 2025 to shield domestic industries from unfair foreign trade practices.
Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Liew Chin Tong stated that the legislation aims to ensure fair trade amid global tariff challenges and World Trade Organisation concerns.
“In general, public interest also includes reliance on imported goods, consumer prices, supply of goods, effects on downstream industries, and inflation.”
He revealed that investigation times for unfair trade cases have been halved from eighteen months to just nine under new global standards.
The amendments passed via majority voice vote after debate by ten members of Parliament.
Liew clarified that the act specifically protects local manufacturers engaged in value-added activities rather than traders or wholesalers.
“The purpose of this act is clear — to protect local manufacturers from unfair price competition by foreign producers or exporters.”
He defined dumping as selling products cheaper in Malaysia than in the exporter’s home country like China or Japan.
The amended legal framework enables investigations against dumped or subsidised imports harming local industries.
“With the changing dynamics of global trade situations and the local business environment, there is a need to review, update, and improve Act 504 in line with current developments and dynamics of international trade practices.”
Malaysia initiated forty-three anti-dumping actions between 1995 and 2010, increasing to sixty-seven from 2011 to 2024. – Bernama
