Joint statement by US Secretary of Commerce Raimondo and Malaysian Senior Minister of International Trade and Industry Azmin Ali

Yesterday, following a roundtable focused on the semiconductor supply chain with government and business leaders, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Malaysian Senior Minister of International Trade and Industry Mohamed Azmin Ali released the following joint statement: 

"We support the strong commercial relationship between the United States and Malaysia through enduring trade, investment, industry facilitation, and technical cooperation. We aspire to further strengthen this relationship by creating linkages between our governments and private sectors while navigating our economies past the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. We believe that trade, investment, and sustainable supply chains will be the building blocks in restoring our economies back on a growth trajectory."

"In bolstering long-term competitiveness, Malaysia’s National Investment Aspirations (NIA) will drive comprehensive reforms that promote enablers of high value, high technology, knowledge, capital, skills-intensive and high-income employment. In this spirit, we aspire to collaborate in areas where a mutually beneficial supply structure exists between the United States and Malaysia. These include, but are not limited to, climate change mitigating products, digital trade, medical devices, and electronics. Further, Malaysia has identified the energy and environment industry as a strategic sector which will strengthen the key foundations of sustainable growth. As such, we believe a strong U.S.-Malaysia partnership would help both our countries achieve the maximum potential for robust mutual growth. Malaysia’s human resource capacity provides a strong basis for collaboration in high-impact, high-tech investment in tandem with the United States’ technological advancement in this area. We would like to see enhanced collaboration and information sharing platforms that would provide better transparency and effective engagements in advancing efforts of common interest."

"As an outcome of a November 18 semiconductor roundtable co-hosted by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Malaysian Senior Minister of International Trade and Industry Mohamed Azmin Ali, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Malaysian Ministry of International Trade and Industry plan to collaborate with industry partners on semiconductor supply chain transparency, security, and resilience. The two countries will also work together with U.S. and Malaysian industry partners to develop more transparency and trust in the manufacturing and manufacturing-related sectors and their supply chains."

"Given Malaysia’s critical role in global supply chains for semiconductors, electronics, health products, and other key goods, this announcement is an important first step in collaborating on current and long-term supply chain challenges for both our nations and the global economy. We intend to begin discussions on a Memorandum of Cooperation with a goal of signature in early 2022."