00:01A U.S. medical supply lobby group, the American Medical Manufacturers Association, has urged
00:07the U.S. government to reject Malaysia's request for special tariff exemptions on rubber gloves.
00:14AMMA urged the Trump administration to maintain a proposed 25% tariff on imports, including
00:20those from Malaysia, despite lobbying from the Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association.
00:25In a statement, AMMA Executive Director Eric Axel said there is no justification for carve-outs
00:32when domestic manufacturers can meet the needs of healthcare workers.
00:36Axel called Malaysia's lobbying a blatant attempt to gain preferential treatment at the cost
00:41of U.S. jobs, innovation, and supply chain resilience.
00:45AMMA also criticized Malaysia for refusing to offer open market access in return and pointed
00:51to protected contracts for the indigenous population as a long-standing sore point in trade talks.
00:57In a response to a letter by the Malaysian Association warning of higher costs and disrupted healthcare
01:02access in the U.S., Axel accused them of fear-mongering and said U.S. companies are ready to meet demand
01:08without exceptions.
01:10U.S. glove company executives, including Donnie Chan of Maxter Healthcare and Allison Bagwell
01:15of Nephron Nitrile, supported AMMA's stance, emphasizing investment in the U.S. and equal trade rules.
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