No Major Changes In Us-Malaysia Economic Relations - Ambassador
GEORGE TOWN, Dec 5 (Bernama) -- There will not be any major changes in the economic relations between the United States (US) and Malaysia under the new leadership, said US Ambassador to Malaysia Edgard D Kagan.
Although the exact details of the US new administration’s policies will not be known until January 2025, he is confident that the economic relations, which generate tremendous benefits for people in both countries, will continue.
“I think it is also fair to say that the exact details of policies are not really going to be known until the new administration takes over.
“At the same time, I think that it is very clear, and this has been true from both candidates (US presidential), that there is a strong desire to increase manufacturing jobs in the US,” he told reporters after delivering his remarks on the economic partnership between the US and Malaysia at the Penang Institute here, today.
Kagan stated there is an effort to look for a mix of policies to do that.
“I think that that is very, very clear that is going to be an important goal for the incoming administration, based on what they have said during the campaign,” he added.
Donald Trump, who lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden, is set for a historic second term as the US president after defeating Democratic vice-president Kamala Harris in the race for the White House.
Trump’s official swearing-in is scheduled for Jan 20, 2025, at the US Capitol in Washington.
Kagan noted that the US-Malaysia two-way goods trade increased by 29.1 per cent in 2024, and if this trend continues, Malaysia will likely become the US’s third-largest trading partner in the ASEAN region.
“The growth is not just about the numbers, but what really matters is the strengthening ties, the broader trust and cooperation, the broader partnership between American firms, Malaysian firms, but also other multinational companies that operate in Malaysia and the American partners to whom they export,” he said.
He pointed out that US investments have created nearly 312,815 jobs in this country, and Malaysia’s exports to the US also grew by 19.1 per cent this year.
“What we see is that the US exports to Malaysia play a crucial role in supporting the MADANI Economy by providing Malaysian-based businesses with advanced technology and manufacturing capabilities, which enables Malaysia to produce more sophisticated and advanced products, moving up the value chain,” he added.
Touching on Malaysia’s imports of capital goods from the US, the ambassador said the top growth in imports for 2024 is aircraft components, aerospace equipment, semiconductor and wafer manufacturing equipment and electronic integrated circuits.
Kagan also highlighted the strong US-Malaysia economic ties, citing over RM150 billion worth of foreign direct investments since 2021.
The US is Malaysia’s second-largest export market.
-- BERNAMA