Dr Mahathir Mohamad expects US president Donald Trump to pause all ongoing tariffs within the next three months, saying the duty hurts the US more than other countries.
The former prime minister said tariffs were meant to make imports pricier, to boost demand for local products, but this depends on the availability of the latter.
Mahathir said the US “practically has no local products” as it had relied on imports for over a decade as a much cheaper option.
“Even American products are produced in foreign countries because the cost is lower. Apple produces its iPhone mainly in China and India for sale in the global market, including the US.
“Already, Trump has been forced to delay (or pause) high tariffs on electronics. The same problem will be faced by other products. The result will be high increases in the cost of living in the US.
“I give Trump three months before he will have to pause his high tariffs,” Mahathir said in a Facebook post.
He added that the US would face a shortage of key parts and components, which would make local production costly. This in turn would mean products would not sell well in the US or be able to compete globally, he said.
Mahathir predicted that the US would face a shortage of various products, both essential and non-essential, and that a public backlash would ensue.
“The US will lose its foreign markets because its products cannot compete in the world market. There will be a lot of demonstrations by Americans.
“It will not become great,” he said, in a dig at Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
Trump has paused the imposition of “reciprocal” import tariffs for 90 days, excluding the additional tariffs of 145% imposed on China, which has responded by imposing sweeping counter-tariffs of 125% on US goods.
Malaysia initially received a 24% tariff rate, excluding electronics, while regional neighbour Cambodia was slapped with a 49% tariff, the heaviest among all Southeast Asian countries. It was followed by Laos (48%), Vietnam (46%), and Singapore (10%).
Investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz is currently in the US to lead talks on the tariffs with his US counterparts.
