Confusion over Malaysia-US trade deal as ‘null and void’ claim retracted

Malaysia’s government has been forced onto the defensive over its much-touted tariff deal with the United States, after a minister walked back an earlier claim that the agreement had been rendered “null and void” by a US Supreme Court ruling.Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration signed the deal in October, promising US$240 billion in investments and purchases of American goods, including beef and aircraft, in exchange for continued access to the world’s largest consumer market at a tariff rate of 19 per cent.But four months on, the deal’s status has been thrown into doubt after a February ruling by the US Supreme Court that found President Donald Trump had acted unconstitutionally by using emergency powers to impose his “Liberation Day” tariffs.The confusion came to a head on Sunday when Trade Minister Johari Abdul Ghani told reporters that the court ruling had rendered the deal invalid.“It is not on hold. It is no longer there, it’s null and void,” he was quoted as saying by local English-language daily The Star.Johari Abdul Ghani, then one of Malaysia’s finance minister, pictured at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in 2017. Photo: AFPBy Sunday evening, his own ministry had issued a correction. The minister had “misspoken”, it said, offering no further explanation.