Washington, D.C. – U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer met with Malaysian Minister of Trade and Industry Mustapa Mohamed yesterday ahead of President Trump’s meeting with Prime Minister Najib. During the meeting, Ambassador Lighthizer and Minister Mustapa discussed ways to further strengthen their trade relationship. They directed their staffs to make further progress in addressing specific issues being discussed under the U.S.-Malaysia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, including on insurance and financial services, intellectual property, agriculture, goods, labor, and environment. The two Ministers agreed to stay in close touch over the coming months to assess progress in resolving outstanding issues and to engage on ways to enhance their economic ties and promote more balanced trade between the two nations.
Background
Malaysia is the 18th largest U.S. goods trading partner, with $48.5 billion in bilateral goods trade in 2016. In 2016, the United States had a $24.8 billion goods trade deficit with Malaysia, with U.S. exports of $11.8 billion and U.S. imports of $36.6 billion. In 2015, the United States had a roughly $1.0 billion bilateral services trade surplus with Malaysia, with total bilateral services trade of $4.7 billion.
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