00:01Malaysia says it is moving to address a legal gap identified in a US forced labour tariff proposal
00:07while disputing findings from the Office of the US Trade Representative.
00:12While Malaysia already has domestic laws against forced labour,
00:15the Investment Trade and Industry Ministry acknowledged the gap of not having an import prohibition law
00:21to screen goods and raw materials made with forced labour.
00:25The Ministry clarified that the USTR's finding does not mean Malaysia practices forced labour
00:31and is not a reflection of the country's labour conditions.
00:35He added that the government is actively working to address this import gap.
00:40Malaysia is among 54 economies found by the USTR's Office
00:44to have failed to impose and enforce bans on imports linked to forced labour.
00:48Others include China, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and the UK.
00:56A lower proposed tariff rate of 10% was suggested for Malaysia
01:00compared with 12.5% for most other economies under review
01:04due to earlier commitments related to forced labour import prohibitions
01:08under a reciprocal trade agreement with the US.
01:13However, METI Minister Johari Ghani said the agreement was nullified in March.
01:20The Ministry added that no tariff has been imposed yet
01:23as the proposal is still under public consultation.
01:28Tanusha Manogaran, FMT.
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