Push and pull for S-E Asia as China counters Malaysia's US trade deal with own pact
KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia is seeking to pacify China by exploring a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) that the latter proposed in the wake of a controversial trade treaty Malaysia signed in October with the United States. Just days after Beijing raised “grave concerns” over Kuala Lumpur’s agreement with Washington, Malaysia’s Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said on Dec 2 that the proposed deal with China would cover “strategic sectors” between the two trading partners. But the
Hanging by a thread: 50% US tariffs put Indian textile exporters in survival mode
TIRUPPUR - Indian textile businessman R.K. Siva Subramaniam is used to what he calls cycles of tension. But he is at a loss about how to emerge from the crisis triggered by US President Donald Trump’s 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods. The US is the largest export market for India’s US$179 billion (S$234 billion) textile and apparel industry, whose export earnings in 2024 totalled US$37 billion. But that market is shrinking fast. “Our Indian government asks us to find new markets to export to instead of
