The Umno Supreme Council member said the reality was that Malaysia needed to maintain trade ties with major economic powers like the US.

Puad added that Washington reducing the tariffs on Malaysian exports from 25% to 19% was already an achievement in itself.

“What other options do we have? We are not like China which can afford to respond to the US tariffs by imposing tariffs of their own (on US exports).

“Would Malaysia be in a better position if we did not sign the agreement?” he questioned in a Facebook post.

Puad added that investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz’s explanation on the deal made him confident in Putrajaya’s decision.

He also said it was more credible than the criticism levelled by Bersatu information chief Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz and former Umno leader Isham Jalil.

Yesterday, Tengku Zafrul said Malaysia would have been subjected to higher tariffs if it had not signed the trade agreement with the US, adversely affecting the nation’s competitiveness, investments and jobs.

The deal also resulted in 1,711 tariff lines worth RM22 billion being removed.

The minister also said that the deal does not make Putrajaya obligated to emulate the US in imposing customs duties, prohibitions or import restrictions on goods and services from other countries.

Responding to the opposition, Tengku Zafrul said the government was only obligated to impose restrictions on other countries to address economic or national security concerns that are “shared” by both US and Malaysia.