He said the country’s reprieve from the steep US tariffs would expire on July 24.

He said the country had benefited from lower trade-weighted tariffs as nearly half of its exports, particularly electrical and electronics (E&E) products and machinery, were exempted from the current levy.

“However, it is a temporary breather as the future is still uncertain after July 24,” he said in his speech at the launch of the World Bank’s 32nd Malaysia Economic Monitor report here today.

US president Donald Trump imposed a temporary 10% import duty in February, days after the Supreme Court struck down his earlier sweeping tariffs.

The US trade court on May 7 ruled against the latest tariff, but the US Courts of Appeals issued a stay after the government appealed.

As such, Akmal said Malaysia must move into higher-value, harder-to-substitute segments of the E&E sector.

He also called for greater investment in research and development, stronger indigenous innovation, and improvements to the country’s legal and business environment.

He said the government would continue expanding Malaysia’s global trade networks to reduce reliance on traditional trading partners and build a more diversified trade portfolio to better withstand external economic shocks.

Wage gap narrows to RM19

Akmal also flagged a growing disconnect between educational attainment and labour market outcomes, with wage growth failing to keep pace with rising living costs despite median wages rising roughly 5% annually since 2020.

He said the wage gap between graduates and semi-skilled workers had narrowed to just RM19, reflecting weakening returns to higher education.

“Many graduates remain underemployed, with 36.1% of tertiary-educated workers employed in semi-skilled or low-skilled jobs in 2024 compared to 30.2% in 2015,” he said.