The United States (US) has agreed to assess Malaysia's proposal for tariff exemptions for several key commodity products such as palm oil and cocoa, with a decision expected to be finalised next month.
Malaysia's chief official tariff negotiator, Mastura Ahmad Mustafa, who is also the Deputy Secretary-General (Trade) of the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI), said the US is also considering zero tariffs for furniture, automotive parts and components and aerospace.
According to Mastura, the matter has been raised in several previous negotiation sessions.
Malaysia is in the process of detailing an agreement on reciprocal tariffs. Several virtual sessions with the US have been arranged to finalise this agreement.
The US has signalled that they are open to considering goods that are not produced domestically. For such products, they are assessing the possibility of granting zero tariff exemptions under unilateral arrangements.
