“BRICS De-Dollarization Still Vague & Inconclusive” – Tengku Zafrul

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Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul, in his statement, said that BRICS has not yet made an official proposal regarding the issue of dedollarization in trade matters.


He further said that Malaysia as a partner country in BRICS is aware of the current situation, especially regarding the threat made by US Presidential candidate Donald Trump who has proposed imposing 100% tariffs on BRICS countries if they continue to use the new currency.


Although one of the topics discussed during past BRICS meetings was related to reducing reliance on traditional trading currencies such as the US dollar, no official proposal has been agreed upon for dedollarization so far.


Tengku Zafrul said Malaysia views BRICS as an increasingly important platform to convey views and positions on regional economic issues through dialogue, forums or freer discussions.


At the same time, he acknowledged that there is a high level of interdependence in trade and economic relations between Malaysia and the US, especially in the semiconductor supply chain.


This complementary trade relationship can be seen in current statistics where in 2023, the US was Malaysia's third largest trading partner while Malaysia was the 19th largest trading partner of the US.


However, he noted that Malaysia was still not an official member of BRICS and would continue to monitor developments if they affected the country as the USD still played a role in the global financial system.