KUALA LUMPUR: The Small and Medium Enterprises Association of Malaysia (Samenta) has welcomed the government's initiatives to mitigate the impact of reciprocal tariffs imposed by the United States on SMEs.
Its president, Datuk William Ng, said that while the vast majority of SMEs are neither exporters nor manufacturers, they will still be affected by the tariffs as costs rise and consumer spending declines.
He said the association hopes the government will halt all new and planned cost increases, including the expansion of the Sales and Service Tax (SST), and consider lifting the ban on foreign workers to help SMEs in the services sector cope with the tariff.
“What is needed is a broad-based basket of interventions, given that different industries are impacted differently.
“What would help SMEs most at this time is avoiding panic, as most of our SMEs are domestic-facing businesses. Any loss in consumer confidence and spending will hurt our SMEs more than the tariffs themselves,“ he told Bernama when contacted today.
Ng noted that, beyond supporting affected businesses, especially those dependent on the US market or heavily influenced by supply chain costs, the government must also ensure that no incremental costs are introduced.
“ These include halting all planned cost increases, such as those related to electricity and water tariffs, council fees, subsidy rationalisation, and the expansion of the SST,” he added.
Meanwhile, Graduate School of Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia lecturer Dr Roslan Jaafar said the impact of the US tariffs on SMEs largely depends on their market orientation and position within the supply chain.
He said SMEs involved in global supply chains may face rising input costs or retaliatory tariffs abroad, which could make their products less competitive both locally and internationally.
“If their products are exported to the US, the tariff will reduce their competitiveness, making them more expensive than locally produced goods in the US. However, if their products are intended solely for the Malaysian market, they will be less affected,“ he added.
In a special Dewan Rakyat sitting today, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the government has agreed to raise the guarantee allocation under Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan Bhd by RM1 billion, particularly to assist SMEs affected by the US tariffs in securing loans from commercial banks.
He added that, to further support affected SME entrepreneurs, the government has also approved an additional RM500 million for the soft loan fund offered through development financial institutions.
