Tariffs from Trump may lead to 50,000 job losses in Malaysia?

Tariffs from Trump may lead to 50,000 job losses in Malaysia?

Liberation Day by President Donald Trump

This was the list of all the countries (top ones) which will get hit by the Liberation Day by US President Donald Trump. The country with the HIGHEST new tariff among the more advanced ASEAN countries would be Vietnam with 46 percent. In other words, if the current selling price for the good being exported from Vietnam to the US is US$100, the price will now rise to US$146. Final price could be lower if the exporter or the seller in the US is willing to absorb this. Else, the buyer would just have to pay a higher price for this item.

Deficits are because of unfair trade?

Malaysia is meanwhile slapped with an increase of 24 percent. The reason being stated for these new tariffs if because the US says that all these countries have been benefiting from the demands of goods from the US and contributing to the US suffering from huge deficits year after year. In other words, unfair advantage. Therefore, they are now trying to level the playing field once more.

Tariffs will cause demand to drop… so jobs may be lost since demand is dropping

As per the Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MICCI), the tariffs may cause total job losses of up to 50,000 from both direct and indirect jobs. Sorry, I have never heard of MICCI before. However, they did state all the reasons why they say so in an article below. Do read and decide yourself yeah. Predictions are predictions, projections are projections. Just like some groups will always talk about good things when it comes to the property industry while some groups will always be on the side of the property buyers.

Article in nst.com.my US President Donald Trump’s tariffs shock could lead to as many as 50,000 direct and indirect job losses, primarily affecting Penang, Johor, and the Klang Valley, while also causing wage growth to stagnate, according to the Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MICCI).

Its president Christina Tee said, “This is one of the most consequential trade developments in recent years. The 24 per cent tariffs will have far-reaching implications beyond the electronics manufacturing services (EMS) sector, affecting palm oil, medical devices, automotive parts, textiles and more.

“With over 65 per cent of our gross domestic product tied to trade, Malaysia’s economy is extremely vulnerable to such shocks.”These tariffs risk rendering our exports uncompetitive in the US, forcing businesses to reconsider contracts, restructure operations, or even shift production abroad,” she said in a statement.

Do read the article in full here: Article in nst.com.my

Have dialogue first, retaliation as last resort or never fight back?

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer says: Trade war should not be UK’s first response to tariffs.

Australian Prime Minister Albanese says: Australia to ‘stand up for national interests’ on US tariffs.

Vietnam Trade Ministry has asked the Trump administration to put on hold its planned 46% tariff on imported Vietnamese products and engage in further negotiations. (Link here):

China Finance Ministry on Friday said it will impose a 34% tariff on all goods imported from the U.S. starting on April 10.

We can see a few are trying to think of the next step while China has directly responded. Oh yeah, this is what Malaysia is saying.

MITI says: Malaysia is not considering retaliatory tariffs to the US following the recent 10 per cent tariff hikes and reciprocal tariff announced by US president Donald Trump on Malaysian exports to the US.

I think we will have to see what happens next. This is a starting point, not the end yeah. Surely there will be changes when every country starts speaking to the US on all these tariffs which US said is because of unfairness while for these countries who got the tariffs, they are also claiming that this is unfair to them because they did not think they have been unfair in their trade practices thus far.

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