Malaysia vows to buy more US goods in break from united Asean front on Trump's tariffs
Advertisement
Southeast Asian nations are increasingly succumbing to external pressures and pursuing individual agreements with the US as President
Donald Trump 's White House threatens blanket levies on export-dependent countries and China calls on its regional allies to call Washington's bluff.
On Friday, Malaysia said it would negotiate ways to reduce its US$25 billion trade surplus with the US, including by easing access for American goods coming into the country, as it hunts for a reduction or exemption to tariffs.
The levies are likely to crush US demand for everything from furniture to scientific equipment and electric heaters, and shred growth forecasts.
US Senior Bureau official Sean O'Neill (second from right) at the 37th US-Asean Dialogue in Siem Reap on Tuesday. Photo: AFP
Malaysia's trade ministry
sent a delegation to Washington this week, led by Trade Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, who carried a message of 'openness to negotiate'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
8 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
Ex-Israeli security officials urge Trump to pressure Netanyahu to end Gaza war
Hundreds of retired Israeli security officials, including former heads of intelligence agencies, have urged US President Donald Trump to pressure their own government to end the war in Gaza. 'It is our professional judgment that Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel,' the former officials wrote in an open letter shared with the media on Monday. 'At first this war was a just war, a defensive war, but when we achieved all military objectives, this war ceased to be a just war,' said Ami Ayalon, former director of the Shin Bet security service. The war, nearing its 23rd month, 'is leading the State of Israel to lose its security and identity,' Ayalon warned in a video released to accompany the letter. Signed by 550 people, including former chiefs of Shin Bet and the Mossad spy agency, the letter called on Trump to 'steer' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu towards a ceasefire. President Donald Trump (right) listens as Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks in the Oval Office in April. Photo: AP Israel launched its military operation in the Gaza Strip in response to the deadly October 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
South China Morning Post
8 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
Why ‘Western hegemony is over', learning lessons from Ukraine war: SCMP daily highlights
Catch up on some of SCMP's biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing The appearance of President Xi Jinping's chief of staff at the Beidaihe resort on Sunday indicates that senior Chinese leaders have started their annual summer break. USA Rare Earth is receiving a surge in investment as America rushes to reduce its reliance on Chinese rare earth magnets. Illustration: Henry Wong The American economist sees China as key to the global energy transition to zero-carbon energy, especially in markets outside US and Europe.
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Coke with sugar cane or high-fructose corn syrup is better? Experts break them down
US President Donald Trump announced in July that Coca-Cola would switch to cane sugar for its US-made sodas. This followed criticism of the use of high-fructose corn syrup, which Coca-Cola currently uses as a sweetener, by US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Advertisement Kennedy has called high-fructose corn syrup 'just a formula for making you obese and diabetic'. The announcement by the US president – a famed fan of Diet Coke , which uses the artificial sweetener aspartame – was not immediately confirmed by the company. But on July 22, Coke announced that it would introduce a new drink using cane sugar in the autumn, to be sold alongside the high-fructose corn syrup product. Donald Trump drinks a Diet Coke at the Al Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in New York in 2016. Photo: AFP via Getty Images Vito Gerasole, head of Natrona Bottling in the US state of Pennsylvania, feels as though he has seen it all before. Advertisement Gerasole acquired the 120-year-old company after the 2008 death of the previous owner. Since its 1904 founding, the company known for Red Ribbon sodas and Jamaica's Finest Ginger Beer has used cane sugar in its beverages and has never changed.
