PETALING JAYA: The Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) express its dissatisfaction over the United States’ decision to impose reciprocal tariffs averaging 24% on Malaysia with effect on April 9, given its disruption to bilateral trade between two countries and hurting businesses and exports.
In a statement, the ACCCIM, with over 110,000 members across 13 states, questioned how the United States Trade Representative derived that Malaysia currently has imposed an average tariff of 47% charged on US goods, including currency manipulation and trade barriers. It noted that Malaysia was removed from the US Treasury Department monitoring list for currency manipulation as of November 2024.
“We are concerned that the tariff actions and retaliation among major economies could spark a global trade war that can disrupt supply chains, slow global economic growth, and lead to increased costs for consumers and businesses,“ ACCCIM said.
ACCCIM said the US and Malaysia have enjoyed a mutually beneficial trade relationship for decades.
In 2024, the US was the third largest trading partner of Malaysia, accounting for 11.3% of Malaysia’s total trade. It was Malaysia’s second largest export destination (13.2% share) and was Malaysia’s third largest importer (9.2% share).
In February 2025, the US has displaced China as Malaysia’s largest export market (14.8% share).
Overall, the US was the third largest foreign investor in all economic sectors with a total approved investment of RM29.7 billion or 17.4% of total foreign investment in 2024.
ACCCIM president Datuk Ng Yih Pyng said these unnecessary and unreasonable tariffs will impact domestic businesses and exporters, hurting the Malaysia-US bilateral relationship.
“The chamber calls for a more collaborative approach to address the trade imbalance, emphasising engagement and seeking reasonable solutions through consultations and joint efforts. The challenges ahead are daunting for our businesses. The ACCCIM will continue to work collaboratively with the government in developing strategies to mitigate the impact of tariffs,“ he said.
Ng said businesses are seeking financial support and capacity building development programmes in finding alternative suppliers, expanding into new markets beyond the US and encouraging domestic trade and production.
He urges businesses to have a better understanding of tariff implications, stay agile, plan forward, manage costs and explore opportunities to diversify their markets.
In addition to leveraging to existing bilateral and multilateral trade arrangements to expand trade, Ng said, the government has to speed up the Malaysia-European Union Free Trade Agreement negotiation, the Gulf Cooperation Council-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement, and consider negotiate a free trade agreement with the US to soften the impact of tariffs.
