MITI Minister Johari Abdul Ghani confirmed Malaysia has received no indication the US will impose tariffs on its semiconductor exports, with Section 301 negotiations covering forced labour, excess capacity, environmental standards and subsidies: Malaysia already cleared the environmental and subsidy criteria, and the forced-labour issue was settled at a 10% rate (versus 12.5% for other countries, among only 17 economies at that lower rate). This matters because the one unresolved issue, excess capacity, isn’t actually about Malaysian output: Johari said any flagged excess capacity traces to third-country goods routed through Malaysia, and the ministry is pushing the US for the specific country list so it can be excluded. Semiconductor exporters and manufacturers relying on US market access may be affected, with the excess-capacity clarification and the broader US tariff exemption status still pending final confirmation from Washington.

 

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