Malaysia Upholds Finance, Procurement And Bumiputera Policies As US Eases Export Tariffs
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 (Bernama) -- The government remains firm on matters related to policies in the financial system, government procurements, and Bumiputera interests during negotiations with the United States (US) on reciprocal tariffs.
Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz emphasised that Malaysia maintains its position on foreign equity shareholding in strategic sectors to protect domestic industries, while also allowing sufficient opportunities for foreign participation.
“There is a (demand of) maximum shareholding limit for equity foreign shareholdings in strategic sectors, which we also did not agree on, so we did not move to that, in ensuring our domestic industries are protected,” he told reporters during a special press conference on the revised US tariff rates on Malaysian exports today.
The minister said that Malaysia cannot comply with the US government’s demand regarding excise duty. However, Malaysia will still require import permits from the United States for three specific products: cars, tobacco, and alcohol.
“Excise duty was among the ‘red line’ issues for us, while at the same time, the automotive industry is seen as very important to the US.
“We did not compromise on export duties, blanket exemption from import licensing requirement for US products and total liberalisation of the equity requirement for strategic sectors,” said Tengku Zafrul.
The US announced today that it is imposing a reduced 19 per cent tariff on Malaysian imports. The tariffs take effect seven days after 12:01 am on August 1, with goods already in transit granted a seven-day grace period to ease the immediate impact on supply chains.
Since April, Malaysia has been negotiating with Washington to reduce the previous 24 per cent tariff rate.
The Malaysia-US tariff negotiations started on May 6 and concluded on July 31, 2025.
-- BERNAMA