Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has urged Malaysia to expand its trade with the global market, particularly with China, in order to cushion the impact of the punitive tariffs recently imposed by the United States government.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Mahathir criticized the tariff policy introduced by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration as “flawed,” stressing that it would ultimately cause greater harm to the American economy than to its trading partners.
“While the rest of the world will suffer, America will suffer even more, because many American companies established operations outside the U.S. to benefit from lower production costs,” he said.
When asked whether negotiating to reduce the tariffs would imply that the affected countries acknowledged their economic vulnerability, Mahathir said only nations that export heavily to the U.S. would be severely impacted.
“The rest of the world is not imposing high tariffs. Therefore, we should redirect our trade efforts and increase commerce with other countries—China, for instance. By doing so, we can mitigate the effects of the high tariffs imposed by the U.S. and reduce our reliance on the American market,” he explained.
President Trump recently announced a 25% tariff on Malaysian exports, following a 90-day delay in the implementation of the original 24% rate.
In a prior interview with Free Malaysia Today (FMT) in April, Mahathir had already warned that the sweeping tariffs ranging between 10% and 49% across approximately 60 countries would likely backfire and harm the U.S. economy more than its trade partners. He said the resulting increase in consumer prices in the U.S. would lead to a higher cost of living for Americans.
On Japan’s Wartime Past
Separately, Mahathir commented that Malaysia should move forward from Japan’s wartime atrocities during World War II.
Mahathir, who was 16 years old when the Japanese occupation began, acknowledged that he had not forgotten the “many wrongs” committed during that time. However, he noted that Japan had undergone a complete transformation since the war.
“We cannot continue to hold their past against them,” he said, adding that Japan’s post-war recovery served as an inspiring model.
“Not only did they recover, but they also became the second-largest economy in the world. We believed we could learn from their experience, emulate their strategies, and achieve similar success,” he said.
