KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia said on Thursday that any attempt by the new Trump administration to impose tariffs on BRICS countries for trying to create a new currency or use alternatives to the dollar could cause global disruption in the semiconductor supply chain.
The BRIC group of major emerging economies initially included Brazil, Russia, India and China, and has since expanded to include other countries.
Malaysia has applied to join the bloc, which aims to challenge a world order dominated by Western economies, but has not yet been officially accepted as a member.
Trade Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said Malaysia was closely monitoring developments after US President-elect Donald Trump said BRICS members would face 100% tariffs unless they pledged not to create a new currency or support another currency that would replaced the US dollar.
Tengku Zafrul pointed out that the United States is Malaysia’s third largest trading partner, and American companies are the main investors in the semiconductor sector. Malaysia is a major hub that accounts for about 13% of global chip testing and packaging.
“As such, any move to impose 100% tariffs will only hurt both sides who depend on each other in their efforts to prevent disruptions to the global supply chain,” he said in a parliamentary reply.
He added that while BRICS countries have discussed reducing reliance on traditional trade currencies such as the US dollar, no official decision has been made on de-dollarization efforts.
The grouping does not have a common currency, but long-running discussions on the topic gained some momentum after the West imposed sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine.
On Monday, Russia said any US attempt to force countries to use the dollar would backfire and only strengthen efforts among countries to switch to national currencies in trade.
