The United States is expected to announce its findings on the investigation into excess capacity involving Malaysia in about three to four weeks, according to Malaysia's Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
Johari said the probe is close to being finalised. "They have almost finalised the excess capacity investigation. I think we are already done on the forced labour issue," he said, referring to a separate US concern that Malaysia has resolved [1].
The Minister emphasized ongoing engagement with US authorities over the definition of excess capacity. He explained that the US approach includes capacity from third countries, which Malaysia disputes. "On excess capacity, this is where we need to engage. I will continue to explain to them that we do not have excess capacity," he said [2, 3].
Malaysia is one of 17 economies subject to a 10% US tariff under a broader Section 301 trade action targeting 60 countries. Other economies involved face a 12.5% tariff rate [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Johari noted Malaysia was selected for the 10% rate despite these engagements: "Imagine, we were selected for 10%, but we did a lot of engagement. We engaged the US and explained to them we don’t have excess capacity" [4].
The US has yet to publicly disclose the final determination on Malaysia's excess capacity status. Johari's remarks suggest Malaysia aims to continue negotiations to clarify or potentially contest aspects of the probe definition.
The official announcement on the probe's findings is expected within three to four weeks, marking a key milestone in the resolution process between the two countries [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
