Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysia and the US signed the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade on October 26 to consolidate bilateral economic ties.
The agreement was signed by US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the sidelines of the 47th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits.
Accordingly, the US has pledged to maintain a 19% tariff for Malaysia. As many as 1,711 tariff lines, comprising key export commodities such as palm oil, rubber, cocoa, aircraft parts, and pharmaceuticals, are exempted from the 19% rate.
The exempted items are worth 5.2 billion USD and account for 12% of the country’s total exports.
Malaysia has committed to providing significant preferential market access for US industrial goods exports, including chemicals, machinery and electrical equipment, metals, and passenger vehicles, and for US agricultural exports including dairy, horticultural products, poultry, processed products, beverages, pork, rice, and fuel ethanol. Besides, the country has pledged to address non-tariff barriers that affect bilateral trade in priority industrial areas.
The agreement also covers significant commitments related to environment, labour, intellectual property, and security cooperation.
The two sides will complete domestic procedures in the coming weeks before the agreement takes effect./.
Malaysia, US upgrade relations to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
The Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the upgrade of the bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership reaffirms the enduring depth of Malaysia-US cooperation in strategic areas, including trade and investment, advanced technology, defence and security, energy security, regional peace and stability, and people-to-people ties.
