PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia will still be able to continue its commodity export activities to the United States (US) as usual during this 90-day period, following the pause on new tariffs imposed by the US.
Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani said the 90-day ‘pause’ period gives Malaysia and other countries time to assess the impact and devise the next steps in dealing with new tariffs.
“Because they gave us 90 days, we can still go about our business as usual,“ he told the media after the official opening of the Forestry, Agriculture and Commodity Trade (FACT) Forum 2025 here today.
He said Malaysia could not avoid being hit by the sudden tariff policy imposed by the United States on imported goods from around the world, including commodity products.
According to Johari, Malaysia exports commodity products worth RM21 billion a year to the United States, involving four main commodities – palm oil products, rubber, furniture, and cocoa including products such as cocoa powder and cocoa butter.
He explained that although the basic tariff rate remains at 10 per cent, the tariff rate imposed by the United States needs to be addressed diplomatically.
“I think Malaysia cannot avoid it because all countries will be affected, so we have to negotiate,” he said.
However, Johari said Malaysia has a slight advantage over Indonesia in this regard.
Meanwhile, for the rubber sector, Johari warned that Malaysia’s competitiveness could be affected if China uses its large production capacity to penetrate non-US markets at lower prices.
“Our rubber products may be more competitive than China’s in the US market. But if China offers lower prices to other countries, that could affect our market as well,“ he said.
Commenting on the whole, Johari said the Ministry of Plantation and Commodities manages exports worth RM186 billion a year, with RM120 billion of which being from palm oil and related products.
“The total commodities that we export from this ministry is RM186 billion. Approximately RM120 billion is from palm oil and palm oil products, the rest from other commodities,” he said.
