TOKYO, December 5. /TASS/. The potential introduction by US President-elect Donald Trump of 100% customs duties on goods from BRICS member states should the alliance move away from the dollar will influence global chains of semiconductor supplies, Malaysian Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said addressing the lower house of the parliament.
Malaysia as a BRICS partner country is aware of Trump’s threats to impose tariffs for participants of the alliance should they abandon the dollar in mutual trade settlements, the minister was quoted as saying by the Bernama information agency. Kuala Lumpur and Washington are interconnected in the trade and economic area, especially in the field of supplies of semiconductors as US companies act as key investors in the Asian country, he noted. "Any step to impose a 100% tariff will affect both sides that depend on each other in the strive to prevent failures in the global chain of [semiconductor] supplies," Tengku Zafrul Aziz said.
Earlier, Trump said that any country that tried to replace the dollar in international trade could "say goodbye" to the US.