COMMENT | When the United States launched its sweeping tariff overhaul in 2025, global attention gravitated toward its implications for China and Mexico.

Yet the deeper, more troubling story lies elsewhere in how these trade measures are disproportionately impacting developing and least developed countries.

Malaysia’s decision to enter negotiations with the US for sectoral exemptions reveals how middle-income nations are trying to preserve trade stability in a rapidly shifting global system.

However, the path forward is far more precarious for countries without strategic leverage or economic heft.

Malaysia will host the Asean Leaders Summit from Oct 26 to 28, where Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz is scheduled to meet with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

The goal is to hammer out a bilateral tariff agreement that could...