Malaysia’s chief negotiator for official tariff negotiations, Mastura Ahmad Mustafa, said Putrajaya has also requested zero tariffs for furniture, as well as automotive and aerospace parts and components.

Mastura, the deputy secretary-general of the investment, trade and industry ministry, said the US side had conveyed the matter in several prior negotiation sessions.

“We are in the process of detailing the agreement on reciprocal tariffs. Starting yesterday, we have arranged several virtual sessions with the US to finalise the agreement,” she said.

However, she explained that the exemptions under discussion would only apply to goods not produced in the US, but would not extend to strategic sectors such as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, which remain subject to Section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act of 1962.

The law allows Washington to impose additional tariffs on grounds of national security.

Yesterday, US trade representative Jamieson Greer said the US is negotiating deals and establishing a stable economic relationship with Asean.

He said the US has not ruled out imposing another round of tariffs on Asean member nations if ongoing trade negotiations fail to deliver outcomes favourable to Washington.

“What we are focused on at this stage are the negotiations, not tariffs,” he said.