Malaysia Opposes Breach Of International Trading System To Circumvent Tariffs -- Tengku Zafrul

KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 (Bernama) -- Malaysia strongly opposes any breach of the international trading system, including the issuance of fake or misleading certificates of origin, in an effort to circumvent tariffs.

Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz said that his ministry (MITI) takes note of media reports that say exporters from China are trying to circumvent United States (US) tariff by “origin washing” products by re-routing through third-party countries such as Malaysia.

“Starting tomorrow (May 6), we will no longer permit chambers of commerce to issue Non-Preferential Certificates of Origin (NPCO) as there are many complaints from the industry that a lot of goods from elsewhere come to our country (for circumventing tariff).

“NPCO for shipments to the US that are often issued by chambers of commerce will not be allowed and applications for NPCO that involve the US will be centralised under MITI,” he added.

Tengku Zafrul was speaking during the winding up session at the special parliamentary meeting at the Dewan Rakyat today where Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim gave an explanation on the government’s preparation to cushion the impact of US reciprocal tariffs on imports from Malaysia.

-- BERNAMA