In a fresh wave of tariff hikes, Washington is now targeting a swath of emerging markets, many of them in Asia, with new tariff values. Hafiz Marzukhi outlines the numbers.
00:00United States is turning up the heat again in a fresh wave of tariff hikes, Washington is now targeting a swath of emerging markets, many of them in Asia, with new duties on strategic imports.
00:12However, this time is not just about China. For Malaysia, as you can see, there's an increase from 24% on Liberation Day, and now 25%.
00:23Well, it looks small on paper, but meaningful when layered against our already delicate export environment.
00:30Now, the newly announced tariffs come on the back of earlier threats, and while some duties have been dialed back slightly, others still remain steep.
00:39If you look right here, among the hardest hit here in ASEAN are, of course, Laos and Myanmar, each slapped with a 40% tariff, although that's down from the more punishing one, 48% for Laos, 44% for Myanmar respectively.
00:55Cambodia, once seen as a key alternative to China for textile and apparel manufacturing, now faces a 36% tariff, a reduction from the earlier proposed 49% tariff.
01:07Less, but still significant. Others like Thailand, seeing no change in their 36% rate. And, of course, we can move closer to other parts of Asia, where Japan and South Korea also now faces 25% tariff.
01:24A marginal uptick from previous threats, of course, similar to us in terms of the rate. While Bangladesh and Serbia will face slightly lower rates than initially threatened, though still in the mid-30% range.
01:36South Africa and Bosnia and it has a Govina as well, as Indonesia are in the 30-32% range, reflecting Washington's broader intent to clamp down on what it views as trade diversion and non-market advantages, especially in sectors like electronics, textiles and metals.
01:53So, what does all this mean for Malaysia as well as the region? We will be exploring these questions in the coming days, while Malaysia's direct share of US imports remains modest, around less than 2%, we are part of a tightly woven Asian supply chain.
02:10When tariffs hit Thailand, Vietnam or Indonesia, the ripple often reaches our ports too.
02:16So, while the tariff numbers may vary, rising in some cases, falling in others, the real message from Washington is this, the US is watching, and the room for quiet substitution in global trade is shrinking.
02:28And for Malaysia, walking the fine line between trade, diversification and economic resilience just got a little tad more complicated.
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