OSAKA: Fact-checking Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on the recent Malaysia-US trade agreement was not a criticism of the former premier, says Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
The Investment, Trade and Industry Minister said that his intention was not to criticise but to provide clear and correct facts on the matter.
“Perhaps he (Dr Mahathir) got the facts from the wrong source. So I took the liberty to correct it,” he told reporters after visiting the Malaysian Pavilion at the World Expo 2025.
He added that it was the responsibility of the government to provide a clear picture of Malaysia’s position on the US tariff issue.
The former prime minister had, among others, claimed that Malaysia was removing all taxes from 11,000 US products in return for the drop in US tariffs.
Tengku Zafrul took to social media to explain that only 60.4% of the tariff lines would be zero-rated and not 100% as claimed by Dr Mahathir.
The former prime minister also questioned a supposed commitment by Malaysia to supply unprocessed rare earth to the United States at a low return.
To this, the minister explained that, be it rare earth or other strategic minerals, there was no exclusive agreement to sell them directly to any country.
He said that Malaysia’s current policy mandated that rare earth must be processed domestically before export.
“In this world of misinformation, it is important that we put our version out there, which in this case, is the truth,” he said.
Malaysia will now face a 19% tariff on exports to the United States, reduced from the previous 25%, under an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump.
The new tariff structure takes effect in seven days and applies to goods entering the US for consumption, with limited exceptions for shipments already in transit.
Signed on July 31, 2025, the order amends Executive Order 14257 and imposes revised ad valorem duties on multiple trading partners, including all major Asean nations.
Under the latest tariff list, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Cambodia each face a 19% rate.
Vietnam faces a 20% tariff, while Brunei is listed at 25%. Laos and Myanmar are hit with the highest rate at 40%. Singapore is not included in the latest round of adjustments.
Tengku Zafrul had said that the United States’ decision to cut tariffs on Malaysian exports to 19% from 25% was a significant achievement of Malaysia’s thorough and methodical negotiating process.
