President Trump signed a series of trade and critical minerals agreements with Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam during the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, aimed at expanding U.S. market access, lowering tariffs, and strengthening regional supply chains.
Under the new accords, the U.S. will maintain tariff rates of around 19 percent on exports from Malaysia, Cambodia, and Thailand, with select reductions to zero for certain goods. Vietnam, currently facing a 20 percent rate, agreed to boost purchases of American products to reduce its $123 billion trade surplus with the United States.
Trump also inked separate deals with Thailand and Malaysia focused on diversifying critical minerals supply chains. Malaysia pledged not to impose export bans or quotas on rare earth elements, while Thailand committed to cutting tariffs on 99 percent of goods and easing foreign investment limits in its telecommunications sector.
The agreements followed Trump’s mediation of an enhanced ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia and include provisions on digital trade, labor rights, and environmental protections. Malaysia also agreed to streamline certification for U.S. pharmaceuticals and cosmetics and secured tariff exemptions for aerospace equipment, palm oil, cacao, and rubber.
Thailand highlighted several major commercial deals under the new framework, including annual purchases of U.S. feed corn and soybean meal valued at $2.6 billion, as well as commitments to buy 80 U.S. aircraft worth $18.8 billion and $5.4 billion in energy products.
