The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturing (FMM) submitted written comments on July 5 opposing the proposed 10% Section 301 tariff on Malaysian imports linked to alleged forced labour practices, urging a balanced approach and cautioning against penalising compliant manufacturers and disrupting supply chains [1, 2, 3].
Jacob Lee Chor Kok, FMM president, said many Malaysian manufacturers exporting to the US ‘‘already operate under strict customer-driven labour compliance requirements, including audits, supplier codes of conduct and traceability obligations’’ [3]. The FMM warned the tariffs would increase costs for US importers, manufacturers, and consumers, possibly affecting prices, product availability, and delivery times [1, 2, 3].
The US Trade Representative (USTR) proposed the tariff on June 2 citing forced labour concerns in Malaysian supply chains [1]. Malaysia responded by announcing an Inter-Agency Task Force on Forced Labour on June 23 as part of wider domestic reforms including recruitment fee reform, labour law amendments, and remediation actions after US Customs withhold release orders [2, 3].
FMM urged USTR to maintain existing Annex A tariff exemptions for critical product lines such as electrical, electronics and semiconductors, and stated that Malaysian products subject to Section 232 tariffs should not face additional duties under Section 301 [1, 2, 3]. Jacob Lee called for ‘‘a periodic review mechanism, at minimum annually, to assess the continued necessity and appropriateness of any duty rate applied to Malaysian-origin goods’’ [3].
The next step involves USTR’s consideration of the FMM’s submission and any revisions to the proposed tariffs affecting Malaysian imports. The review process and Malaysia’s domestic reforms remain ongoing.
