Brave new world: Attendees looking on during a panel session at the Malaysian Economic Forum in Kuala Lumpur. — Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR: The way Malaysia sees trade has changed drastically, with the concept of free trade having “essentially ended,” says Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Liew Chin Tong.
“We have shifted from the assumption that the world was operating on one single global supply chain to now knowing that trade likely will have bifurcation.
“And two of the world’s major powers, the United States and China, are engaging in an act of bifurcation,” he said during a panel discussion at the Malaysian Economic Forum 2025 here yesterday.
Ensuring economic security is key, and this involves working together with Asean to create a strong supply chain, he added.
“If Malaysia is to pursue an industrial policy, it should be an Asean policy.
“Because alone, we do not have the market to replicate what the United States and China are doing – but Asean as a whole may work,” he said.
Liew also said Malaysia has very “interesting sectors,” such as the semiconductor industry.
However, larger diffusion of technology must take place alongside horizontal integration between industries, he added.
“Many semiconductor companies produce automotive chips, but do not have any kind of meaningful cooperation with the local automotive industry. This is where the diffusion of technology must take place,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hinrich Foundation head of trade policy Dr Deborah Elms said the re-election of US president Donald Trump was good because he is set to make trade policy “interesting” again.
“I would say as early as his first day in office, which is less than two weeks away, we will see a number of changes on tariff policy from the United States, including tariffs on China.
“He may also impose tariffs using a variety of existing pieces of legislation in the United States that haven’t been touched in decades,” she predicted.
Elms added that the world would not be so wary of Trump returning to office if only the global trade system was functioning better.
“If we had a functioning global trade system that was not stuck, and if we had others who could realistically band together to stop some of his worst impulses, this would be less damaging.
“But we have Trump plus a very weak system and the consequences of that are going to be deeply problematic,” she said.
However, she said the region had pockets of opportunities that could be seized.
Similarly, Westports Holdings Bhd executive chairman Datuk Ruben Emir Gnanalingam Abdullah said that Trump 1.0 was “good for business and bad for wars.”
He said there should be some optimism about Trump taking office again because businesses and economies could very well do better.
On Asean and the potential it has, Ruben said the region has always been friends with other nations, and that has been one of the biggest benefits.
“Asean is one of the most peaceful regions in the world. And I think one of the things we want to do is make sure it continues to be one of the most peaceful regions in the world and friends with everybody.”
