Think Tank Concerned About Secretive Us M Sia Trade Talks

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 IDEAS calls on the government to prioritise transparency in negotiations and clear engagement with regional partners.
Investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz previously said that negotiators were bound by a non-disclosure agreement. (Facebook pic)PETALING JAYA: A think tank has questioned the extent to which Malaysia’s negotiations with the US on reducing tariffs will result in constructive outcomes, saying the talks lack openness and appear driven more by political considerations than economic rationale
In a statement, the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) said the minimal change between the initial 24% tariff imposed in April and the 25% “final” rate set out on Monday after months of negotiations reflected a lack of substantive progress in the “secretive” trade talks.
IDEAS also called on the government to prioritise transparency in negotiations, policy consistency, and clear engagement with regional partners to protect Malaysia’s long-term economic interests.
Prior to the negotiations which kicked off in May, investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said the negotiators were bound by a non-disclosure agreement.
However, he said they would endeavour to brief the relevant parliamentary select committees or caucuses on the tariff talks.
In its statement, IDEAS said Malaysia must avoid being drawn into retaliatory trade barriers or a false choice between major powers, and continue to diversify and deepen partnerships with countries that share its interest in open and mutually beneficial trade.
IDEAS’s deputy director of research Stewart Nixon said that as the chair of Asean this year, it was imperative that Malaysia lead accelerated efforts towards a substantive and united regional response to US tariffs.
“The underwhelming outcomes from bilateral negotiations for Malaysia and other countries reinforce the need for collective action to combat Washington’s divide-and-conquer strategy,” he said
“We cannot allow fragmented engagement to weaken Asean’s position on the global stage.”
On April 2, US president Donald Trump announced a 24% tariff on certain exports from Malaysia. This was paused for 90 days to enable negotiations.
The pause ended on Monday when Trump issued a letter to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim outlining a 25% tariff on Malaysian exports from Aug 1.
Singapore and the Philippines were the only two Asean nations that did not receive a tariff notification letter from Trump on Monday. They also have the lowest tariff rates as announced in April: 10% for Singapore and 17% for the Philippines. - FMT

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