No US notice on trade deal despite court ruling, says Johari

2026-03-16 - 15:03

Investment, trade and industry minister Johari Ghani said Malaysia will wait for the US to provide a proposal on tariffs after it’s investigation into it’s trading partners. PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian government has not received any official notification from the United States regarding the cancellation of the reciprocal trade agreement (ART) signed between the two countries, following a US court ruling that struck down the sweeping tariffs imposed by president Donald Trump, says investment, trade and industry minister Johari Ghani. Commenting on Perikatan Nasional’s call for Putrajaya to clarify the status of the trade deal signed by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Trump during the latter’s visit to Kuala Lumpur for the Asean summit last October, Johari urged them to refer to the US Supreme Court ruling last month which rendered the deal null and void. “No, there is none (no official notification). They (the US) said the court (US Supreme Court) declared the decision null and void,” he told Berita Harian. “If they (PN) want clarification, tell them to read the US Supreme Court decision. The US has not sent us any letters (regarding the formal cancellation of the ART).” Johari added that Malaysia is one of 60 countries currently under US trade investigations which permit the imposition of import tariffs under American law. “When they have obtained their findings, they will provide Malaysia with a proposal for tariffs, which we will then review and discuss,” he said after attending an event in Kuala Lumpur. The ART maintained the 19% tariffs on Malaysian goods, but certain products enjoyed zero tariffs under aligned partner-trade lists. Trump has since said he will impose global tariffs of 15% to replace the tariffs scrapped by the US Supreme Court, after he initially announced a 10% levy on all goods entering the US. Last Wednesday, the US began investigations into the acts, policies, and practices in 15 trade partners, including Malaysia and the European Union, under Section 301(b) concerning structural excess capacity and production in the manufacturing sector. The following day, trade representative Jamieson Greer said the US had launched investigations into 60 countries under the same section of the Act, which was created, among other things, to address failures to take action against forced labour.