Chinese-based tech firms – which reportedly include lithium battery producer Eve Energy – are hoping that Malaysian officials can persuade Washington to forego the tariffs because the products will be assembled in the country.

“They want guarantees but it is impossible for us to provide them with that,” a Malaysian government official told the British newspaper, which said it had spoken to a number of people familiar with the matter.

“We can …  and do lobby but there is no way (of knowing) what the US will do in the future. We are still trying to work that out ourselves.”

Meanwhile, Johor executive councillor Lee Ting Han told FT that he had received a similar request from the head of a Chinese medical devices company.

“I told them the answer is no for now. However, the US could suddenly change its policies. We have no control over that,” he said.

China is facing the prospect of a new raft of tariffs imposed by the Joe Biden administration – which will particularly impact its electric vehicle exports to the US – and tech firms have been moving their manufacturing operations to Southeast Asia as they look to circumvent these new hurdles.

Malaysia has ramped up its drive to claim a larger share of the global semiconductor manufacturing industry, but it also faces stiff competition from regional neighbours such as Thailand and Vietnam.

Malaysia controls 13% of the global market for packaging, assembly, and testing services for semiconductors and is the world’s sixth-largest exporter, providing 20% of the US’s semiconductor imports a year.

The semiconductor industry also contributes to an estimated 25% of Malaysia’s gross domestic product.