The Malaysian and United States (US) governments have signed a reciprocal trade agreement that will reduce tariffs below 19% on up to 1,711 Malaysian export products to the US.
Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said the products involved include sectors such as palm oil, rubber, cocoa, several pharmaceutical components and aerospace equipment.
A significant export volume of $5.2 billion (RM 21.96 billion) or about 12% of Malaysia's total exports to the US will benefit from this agreement.
Zafrul said that the tariff reductions will take effect within 60 days after the two countries exchange official documents as part of the legal process.
In his statement, he explained that the agreement offers better market access to Malaysia and also maintains what was agreed without having to make any reductions from the original terms.
He added that Malaysia was satisfied with the outcome of the negotiations because not only was there no rollback of the previous agreement, but there were also improvements to several tariff lines handled.
Zafrul stressed that Malaysia considered this agreement as final for the time being and hoped that any changes in the future would increase the benefits to the country.
