Foreign minister Mohamad Hasan noted that Malaysia and the US are significant trading partners, with Malaysia a key electrical and electronic goods exporter to the country.

“The government is looking into this and Wisma Putra is also on it.

“We are keeping an eye on the latest developments and will present (our findings) to the Cabinet for discussion,” he told reporters in Seremban after distributing aid to senior citizens and temples in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebration, Bernama reported.

Trump, who was sworn in as the 47th US president on Monday, has vowed to impose tariffs of 10% to 20% on global imports into the US, and 60% on goods from China.

Yesterday, he said he was considering imposing a 10% tariff on Chinese imports as soon as Feb 1.

Last week, investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said Trump’s policies risk stunting global growth and weakening demand for Malaysian chips.

In a Bloomberg report, Tengku Zafrul said his primary worry regarding Trump’s second term as president was the prospect of global inflation accelerating as the US attempts to “reshore” production capabilities and isolate China through higher tariffs.

While he was not immediately concerned about direct US tariffs on Malaysia, he said he feared the indirect effects of Trump’s threat to impose tariffs of up to 60% on Chinese goods.

He said such tariffs could hit Malaysia’s electronic chips market, where investment decisions were already being reconsidered.