An economic term that's making headlines again under the Trump administration - tariffs. Find out what tariffs really mean for the average person.
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar
LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar
LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Beginning April 9th, the United States will impose a 24% reciprocal tariff on Malaysian imports.
00:07Tariffs might sound like complex economic jargon,
00:11but they're quite simple to understand.
00:13A tariff is a tax that one country puts on goods coming in from another.
00:18For instance, when a company from Malaysia wants to sell products in the United States,
00:23the U.S. government can charge an extra fee—that's the tariff—
00:28before allowing those products to enter the country.
00:31This makes Malaysian products more expensive for American customers.
00:36So, if Malaysia exports electronics that normally cost $100,
00:41and the U.S. applies a 24% tariff,
00:44those electronics would now cost $124 in American stores.
00:49This price increase happens because either the Malaysian company pays the extra $24 to the U.S. government,
00:57or, more commonly, the cost gets passed on to American consumers,
01:02who end up paying more at checkout.
01:05Tariffs typically serve several purposes.
01:07They protect domestic industries by making foreign products more expensive.
01:12They aim to reduce trade deficits when a country imports more than it exports.
01:18They function as leverage in trade negotiations.
01:21And they can raise government revenue.
01:23When U.S. President Donald Trump implements tariffs on goods from countries like Malaysia,
01:29he's essentially making those Malaysian products more expensive for American consumers.
01:34The goal is to encourage Americans to buy American-made products instead.
01:39Tariffs will make this country very rich.
01:41We're rich anyway, but we're rich in a certain way.
01:45We have $36 trillion in debt.
01:48I want to get rid of it.
01:50And we can do it quickly with proper deals.
01:53So when countries don't allow us to sell our product, but we allow them to sell their product,
02:00when they charge us massive amounts of money for the privilege of going into their country,
02:05those days are over.
02:07Malaysia is a significant trading partner for the U.S.,
02:10particularly in electronics, machinery, and rubber products.
02:15These new tariffs could potentially reshape that relationship,
02:19impacting Malaysian manufacturers
02:21and potentially causing ripple effects throughout Southeast Asian supply chains.
02:27On Tuesday, Prime Minister Datuk Sri Anwar Ibrahim
02:31said Malaysia is engaging proactively with the U.S.
02:34towards achieving a mutually beneficial outcome.
02:37At the same time, it will also diversify and strengthen ties
02:41with all major trade markets across the European Union,
02:45Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
02:49For more UN videos visit www.un.org