Malaysia will have “about a month” to negotiate a better tariff deal with the United States, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has said, as the Southeast Asian nation scrambles to bring down punishing levies that threaten to cut growth and ruin businesses reliant on American demand.
US President Donald Trump earlier this week revealed he had sent letters to 14 nations announcing tariffs of between 25 and 40 per cent that would take effect from August 1, much of it focused on members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
Analysts have said the move is aimed at speeding up trade talks.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, however, had given his assurance that Malaysia still had time to negotiate with Washington, Anwar said on Thursday.
“We discussed the letter from Trump. He said it was a general letter and that we still have about one month to negotiate,” Anwar said in a video released by his office after his meeting with Rubio.
“He knows that Malaysia is among the main trading partners of America in this region, and that he will give due consideration and present our views [to Washington].”