Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI), Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said Malaysia will meet the United States with the aim of having zero-rated tariffs on goods imported from Malaysia.
He added that the US demands during recent negotiations with Malaysia were to protect its technology, increase investment in strategic sectors and reduce trade imbalances.
Tengku Zafrul explained that the US claims it has a $25 billion trade deficit with Malaysia based on their data.
He said another issue was that the US wants to protect its technology from being used by others without the country's approval.
That is why they have export restrictions on technology chips coming to Malaysia, Indonesia or Singapore and they do not want the chips to be smuggled to other countries.
Tengku Zafrul also said that the US wants to see Malaysia invest in certain strategic sectors there.
Government-linked companies alone have so far invested almost $45 billion in the bond and equity markets in the US.
Tengku Zafrul also said that the United States wants Malaysia to address any problems with the transfer of shipments and now the government has announced a certificate of origin under the MITI ministry.
On April 22, Tengku Zafrul led a delegation to Washington DC for a three-day mission, including meetings with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
