COMMENT | What can M'sia and Asean offer to Trump

COMMENT | At the time of writing, Malaysia and the rest of Southeast Asia have not been adversely affected by policies announced under the second Donald Trump administration (Trump 2.0)… yet.

Next week, on April 2, a round of “reciprocal tariffs” will be announced and put in place, and will likely have a more direct and negative impact on Asean members especially those countries with greater exposure to the US market, namely Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Cambodia (Singapore has an existing free trade agreement or FTA with the United States).

Rather than taking a more reactionary wait-and-see approach towards engaging Trump 2.0, Malaysia and Asean should take a more proactive approach in putting possible “deals” on the table for the consideration of President Trump, who sees himself as the ultimate dealmaker.

Since Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has already invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to Malaysia for the year-end Asean summit, why not offer to host a Trump-Putin summit in Kuala Lumpur at the same time?

Trump is no stranger to having high-profile summits in Southeast Asia. He met North Korean President, Kim Jong Un, in Singapore in June 2018 and later in Hanoi in February 2019.

While there is a possibility that Trump may want to meet Putin earlier in the year to witness some sort of peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, there is no harm in putting this offer on the table, quietly, to gain some positive attention in the corridors of the White House.

At the same time, it would be useful for Malaysia to signal our attention to invest in and buy more from the United States.

Vietnam, the country with the third largest trade surplus with the United States, has already sent its Trade Minister, Nguyễn Hồng Diên, to meet with the US trade representative Jamieson L Greer earlier this month and a number of agreements were signed during this visit including commitments to buy more liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States.

Malaysia can highlight its existing investments in the United States through some of the government-linked investment corporations (GLICs) such as Khazanah and the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) including in the property and technology sectors and also announce new investment plans.

Petronas and other Malaysian oil and gas (O&G) players including Yinson and Dialog may also consider a coordinated approach to invest in the fragmented “fracking” and O&G logistics sector in the United States.

A business delegation led by Investment, Trade, and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, together with heavy hitters from our GLICs and GLCs, to Washington DC would be a strong signal that Malaysia is ready to do business with the US government and US companies.

This would also be a good opportunity to gather together other Malaysian companies with investments in and exposure to the United States, both small and large, including some of our E&E players from Penang such as Greatech and Vitrox and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies such as Mamee to be part of this delegation.

The recent announcement that the Malaysian Airlines Group (MAG) is buying 30 new Boeing planes by 2030 should also form part of the narrative that Malaysia is doing business with the US in a way which benefits US companies, with positive spillover effects on the local industry.

Asean strategies

Each Asean country is adopting their own “hedging” strategies vis-à-vis Trump 2.0 and rightly so because of our own unique trading, investment, and political relationships with the United States. But there are certain value propositions which the bloc can put on the table which can be facilitated by Malaysia as this year’s Asean chair.

For example, the association can propose to start negotiating for an Asean-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as a way to address areas of “unfairness” which are perceived by the Trump administration which is the underlying basis of the “reciprocal” tariff approach that is currently being adopted. This may be a good way for us to put Asean in Trump’s good books, at least for now.

Asean can also sign agreements for partnerships in areas such as the supply of critical minerals, the development of small nuclear reactors (SMRs) for industrial use, strengthening the digital economy ecosystem, and enhancing the resilience of the semiconductor supply chain with the United States, just to name a few.

Some countries already have existing agreements with the US, but these can be enhanced and packaged to be put forth as an Asea value proposition for the US.

Some of these ideas may be impractical or they may not obtain the necessary consensus within Asean. But it is important for Malaysia to think through different strategies and to put different options on the table so that we can take a more proactive approach towards engaging with Trump 2.0.

ONG KIAN MING is pro vice chancellor of external engagement for Taylor’s University. He is a former deputy minister and MP.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

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