Any protectionist policy in trade affects Malaysia, PM Anwars says as Trump returns as US president

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that any form of protectionism will affect countries in terms of trade and investment.

Speaking to Richard Quest on CNN recently, Anwar cited an example whereby a huge number of Malaysia’s microchips were exported to United States (US), which accounted for 26 per cent.

“Whether or not we join BRICS, protectionist policies will affect us. I mean a huge (portion of) microchips and semiconductors were exported to the US, and (any protectionist measures) will certainly affect us,” said Anwar in the interview, which was uploaded on Quest’s X account, yesterday.

Anwar who is also the Finance Minister was responding to a question on whether Donald Trump’s win in the United States (US) presidential election on Tuesday last week that might lead to the introduction of protectionist policies in the future could affect Malaysia.

This is Trump’s second non-consecutive term running the office, after serving as the US 45th president from 2017 to 2021.

According to news reports recently, the US president-elect’s promise of imposing baseline tariffs of 10 per cent on all goods imports has already sent shivers around the world’s manufacturers.

Meanwhile, on BRICS, Anwar reiterated that the country’s interest in the intergovernmental organisation, is largely in economic and trade ties following its huge potential with Malaysia as a trading nation.

“I mean we have benefitted immensely from our collaborations with the US and Europe, and now China is growing, and with BRICS we are opening up further avenues to enhance trade and investment,” he explained.

On October 24, Malaysia was officially recognised as a BRICS partner, along with 12 other countries, namely Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China, was established in 2009 as a cooperation platform for rapidly developing economies. South Africa joined in 2010, and the bloc later expanded to include Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The grouping represents about 40 per cent of the global population and contributes a cumulative gross domestic product (GDP) of US$26.6 trillion (US$1=RM4.43), or 26.2 per cent to global GDP, nearly on par with the economic strength of the Group of Seven (G7) countries. — Bernama