“Sell first, think later.”
That is the panic strategy now being used by many Malaysian furniture manufacturers, as the 90-day US tariff moratorium expires this July.
With a 24% import tax set to be imposed on most Malaysian exports to the United States (US), local furniture companies are rushing to empty their warehouses by shipping as much of their products to the US as possible before the tariff gates close.
Malaysia, among the world’s 10 largest furniture exporters, generates nearly RM9.5 billion a year in the global market, with more than half of that coming from the US.
But with the heat of Trump’s tariffs looming and the fact that they have already started to bite some smaller companies, making long-term plans is now like playing chess in the fog – full of risk, no certainty.
Synergy House, a major furniture exporter to the US, admits that there have been delays in orders and price renegotiations due to the tariffs.
Competition is heating up.
Thailand is waiting for an opportunity, Mexico is ready to fall in line. And Malaysia? Still busy tinkering when to act?
If Malaysia continues to be complacent, it is possible that our furniture will become an exhibit—not in American homes, but in a museum of export failures.
