Cabinet to discuss 25% US tariff tomorrow
Published on: Tue, Jul 08, 2025
By: FMT Reporters Text Size: Plantation and commodities minister Johari Ghani played down concerns that Malaysia's involvement in the BRICS group of developing nations will lead to further US tariffs. PETALING JAYA: The Cabinet will discuss the 25% tariff imposed by the US on Malaysian products tomorrow, says plantation and commodities minister Johari Ghani. The tariff, effective Aug 1, was announced by US president Donald Trump yesterday and will apply to all Malaysian exports, separate from other sector-specific duties. Malaysia had faced a 24% tariff on certain exports to the US unless both sides could reach an agreement before the end of the 90-day pause today. 'For the past 90 days, investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz has been negotiating with the US,' Johari said in a Harian Metro report. 'It seems they have given until Aug 1 to continue negotiations, but they've already increased the tariff from 24% to 25%. 'Let's wait and see. I believe the Cabinet will address this issue tomorrow.' In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Trump said Malaysia's current trade policies had made its trading relationship with the US largely one-sided and non-reciprocal. While Trump said he was ready to lower the 25% tariff if Malaysia changed its trade policies, he warned that any decision by Malaysia to raise tariffs on US goods would result in an additional 25% tariff. Johari also played down concerns that Malaysia's involvement in the BRICS group of developing nations would lead to further US tariffs, stressing the importance of diversifying Malaysia's export markets. Trump previously said the US would impose an additional 10% tariff on any country aligning itself with BRICS's 'Anti-American policies'. Anwar was among the world leaders who attended the 17th BRICS Leaders Summit in Brazil on Sunday. 'There are over 190 countries in the world. If one country treats us like this, it doesn't mean we can't survive,' said Johari. 'We must look for new markets.' * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malaysian Reserve
2 hours ago
- Malaysian Reserve
U.S. Lumber Coalition: Canada Employs Unfounded Scare Tactics in Attempt to Attack President Trump's Successful Trade Policies
The U.S. softwood lumber industry is a critical manufacturing industry essential to the national economic strength and the industrial resilience of the United States Canada's unfair trade in softwood lumber continues to be extremely harmful to U.S. producers and workers Continued strong trade law enforcement is paramount to bringing about fair pricing of lumber to support future capacity increases for U.S. self-reliance in lumber WASHINGTON, July 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — CNN recently published an article citing the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, backed by Canadian allied organizations such as the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB), attacking President Trump's trade policies. The article claims that tariffs on Canadian building materials, with an emphasis on Canadian lumber imports, will drive up the cost of housing for U.S. consumers. This is incorrect. 'Claims by the National Association of Homebuilders that import duties, or possible future tariffs, against unfairly traded Canadian lumber imports would drive the housing affordability issue routinely have been proven wrong,' stated Zoltan van Heyningen, Executive Director of the U.S. Lumber Coalition, adding that 'an honest conversation about housing affordability, such as Prime Minister Carney engaged in when talking about housing affordability issues in Canada, would mainly focus on the cost of land, regulatory costs, labor, and high profitability rates of homebuilders.' 'President Trump's America First trade policies, which include the unyielding enforcement of U.S. trade laws against dumped and subsidized Canadian lumber imports, has resulted in a massive boost of U.S. production of softwood lumber to build American homes with American lumber produced by American workers,' stated Andrew Miller, Chair/Owner of Stimson Lumber Company. Increased U.S. capacity through the enforcement of the U.S. trade laws means that today the United States can supply the vast majority of its own lumber needs. U.S. mills have added 8.8 billion board feet of capacity since 2016 in the form of new mills and expansions of existing mills. The U.S. industry has produced 30 billion additional board feet of softwood lumber during this period. These increases have more than offset any decline in unfairly traded Canadian imports and are enough lumber to build two million new single-family homes. 'In order to continue seeing the massive growth of U.S. softwood lumber production capacity that we have seen over the last nine years as a result of U.S. trade law enforcement, it is essential that President Trump takes all necessary steps to downsizing Canada's unsustainable 8 billion board feet of excess lumber capacity that is stifling continued U.S. growth,' continued Miller. 'Canada's massive excess lumber capacity coupled with Canada needing to ship 60 to 70 percent of all their lumber production into the U.S. market in order to maintain that capacity is driving Canada to continue engaging in egregious unfair trade practices,' added Miller. 'Canadian softwood lumber companies, not U.S. consumers, directly pay the import duties through their U.S. subsidiaries. This is reflected in their financial statements, and is not a cost that they can pass on to the consumers in today's weak lumber market,' stated van Heyningen, adding that 'naturally, this is a fact that is overlooked by those seeking to attack President Trump's successful trade policies as it is an inconvenient truth.' 'To date, Canadian softwood lumber companies have paid an estimated 7 billion dollars to U.S. taxpayers, and will be on the hook for an additional estimated 1.3 billion dollars once the U.S. Department of Commerce issues its latest results in the ongoing antidumping and anti-subsidy trade cases,' explained van Heyningen. 'Canada is desperately trying to avoid paying their bill to the U.S. taxpayers and is pushing the outrageous scheme of using the collected duties slated for the U.S. Treasury as a bailout of the Canadian industry to secure jobs for Canadian workers. They are suggesting relieving Canada from having to pay future duties while continuing to dump their excess lumber into the U.S. market,' added van Heyningen. 'This is an affront to the principles of U.S. trade law enforcement, to U.S. taxpayers, and to U.S. industry and its workers who simply want to be able to compete on a level playing field.' U.S. lumber industry response to Canada's proposal that the United States terminate its trade cases against Canadian lumber in order to bail out the Canadian industry and secure jobs for Canadian workers. U.S. lumber industry and workers letter to President Trump on the need for continued strong enforcement of the U.S. trade laws to keep expanding U.S. lumber manufacturing and availability to build more American homes with American lumber. Enforcing U.S. trade laws helps increase the U.S. supply of lumber to build American homes, all without impacting the cost of a new home, as demonstrated by data from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Fastmarkets Random Lengths. About the U.S. Lumber Coalition The U.S. Lumber Coalition is an alliance of large and small softwood lumber producers from around the country, joined by their employees and woodland owners, working to address Canada's unfair lumber trade practices. Our goal is to serve as the voice of the American lumber community and effectively address Canada's unfair softwood lumber trade practices. The Coalition supports the full enforcement of the U.S. trade laws to allow the U.S. industry to invest and grow to its natural size without being impaired by unfairly traded imports. Continued full enforcement of the U.S. trade laws will strengthen domestic supply lines by maximizing long-term domestic production and lumber availability produced by U.S. workers to build U.S. homes. For more information, please visit the Coalition's website at CONTACT: Zoltan van Heyningenzoltan@ | 202-805-9133
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
US judge orders deported migrant Abrego released ahead of trial
FILE PHOTO: Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant who lived in the U.S. legally with a work permit and was erroneously deported to El Salvador, is seen wearing a Chicago Bulls hat, in this handout image obtained by Reuters on April 9, 2025. Abrego Garcia Family/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT./File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. judge ordered on Wednesday that Kilmar Abrego be released on bail while awaiting trial on human smuggling charges, a legal victory for the migrant who was wrongly deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration, but one that likely sets the stage for him to be detained again by immigration authorities. U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw in Nashville upheld a magistrate judge's ruling that prosecutors had not shown sufficient evidence that Abrego posed a public safety threat or was a flight risk. Simultaneously on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Greenbelt, Maryland, who is overseeing a civil lawsuit brought by Abrego, put a 72-hour pause on any further attempt by the Trump administration to deport Abrego. The ruling will likely not lead to Abrego's release from U.S. government custody and will trigger a renewed legal battle over whether he can be deported again. Abrego's lawyers have asked for the ruling to be paused for 30 days, keeping him in criminal detention as they weigh their next moves. President Donald Trump's administration has previously said if Abrego is freed from criminal custody, he will immediately be taken into immigration detention and face a second deportation to a country other than El Salvador. The immigration proceedings will begin immediately and could lead to Abrego's removal from the U.S. before a criminal trial, officials have said, despite the Trump administration's previous vow that Abrego would face justice in an American courtroom. Abrego, 29, a Salvadoran migrant who had been living in Maryland, was deported and imprisoned in El Salvador in March despite a 2019 judicial ruling that he could not be sent there because of a risk of gang persecution. Abrego's case has drawn widespread attention as the Trump administration moves aggressively to deport millions living illegally in the U.S., prompting criticism that the government is infringing on legal rights. The Trump administration brought Abrego back to the U.S. in June after securing an indictment accusing him of taking part in a smuggling ring as part of the MS-13 gang to transport migrants living in the country illegally. Abrego has pleaded not guilty and his lawyers have accused the Trump administration of bringing the charges to cover up violations of his rights. He has denied any gang ties. Federal prosecutors sought to convince two different judges to order Abrego be detained while awaiting a trial. They alleged that Abrego used children as cover during smuggling trips, faced complaints that he mistreated female passengers and lied about his activities when stopped by police in 2022. Lawyers for Abrego have argued that alleged co-conspirators cooperating with prosecutors cannot be trusted because they are seeking relief from their own criminal charges and deportations. The defense has argued that witnesses gave inconsistent statements to investigators, including about the government's core allegation that Abrego is a member of the MS-13 gang. (Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Scott Malone, Nia Williams and Deepa Babington)
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Digital payments to surge in Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Digital payment adoption is set to surge in Malaysia, with more consumers likely to use emerging digital payment methods in the next year, a new research conducted by Mastercard showed. The research, which surveyed consumers across the globe on payment preferences, has found that some 63 percent of Malaysian consumers prefer using new and innovative methods such as Tap & Go mobile payments, biometric payments, QR codes and mobile wallets, over traditional methods like cash or manual card entry, reflecting a widespread appetite for innovation. The research showed that Malaysian consumers are among the most enthusiastic to embrace payment innovation, as 93 percent are likely to use five or more payment methods in the next 12 months. While cash is still Malaysia's most used payment method, 70 percent of consumers used it in the last year, narrowly edging out QR code payments with 64 percent, usage of digital payment methods is set to rise in the next year. This preference for innovation applies to other emerging technologies as well, with 89 percent of Malaysian consumers saying they are keen to use artificial intelligence (AI) to manage their finances, particularly for fraud detection, payment automation, product personalization, and predicting financial outcomes. Meanwhile, as payment options grow, consumers are seeking hyper-convenient ways to manage money that fit seamlessly with their digital usage habits, the research revealed. It highlighted they want flexibility to customize how they pay, tapping into digitally native methods like peer-to-peer or peer-to-merchant payments, QR codes, wearables, and social commerce. "These findings reaffirm that the digital evolution in payments has firmly taken center stage in Malaysia. With digital-first and mobile-first lifestyles shaping consumer behavior, innovation and security in payments will be key to sustaining this momentum," said Beena Pothen, country manager of Malaysia & Brunei at Mastercard.
