KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 — Malaysia will likely miss its 2025 economic growth target, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today, citing the impact of US-imposed tariffs and a weaker global outlook.
In a special parliamentary meeting today, Anwar noted that the International Monetary Fund has projected slower growth globally as a result of the tariffs, cutting it from 3.3 per cent to 2.8 per cent. This included a revision for Malaysia, which went from 4.7 per cent to 4.1 per cent.
While Anwar said early negotiations with the US were encouraging, he conceded that such a revision may be unavoidable.
“Although the situation remains dynamic, there’s a big possibility we won’t be able to hit our Budget 2025 targets of between 4.5 to 5.5 per cent growth, and as such, the Ministry of Finance and Bank Negara Malaysia are currently assessing the impact of these tariffs and will revise the GDP forecast once there is more clarity and we see the outcome of the future negotiations,” he added.
Anwar said the government is also actively looking for new markets and is encouraging economic trade with countries in the Asean region through an Asean Power Grid.
Last month, BNM governor Datuk Seri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour said the central bank would wait and see how the negotiations played out before deciding on a revision.
In April 2025, the Trump administration imposed a 24 per cent “reciprocal” tariff on Malaysian imports to the United States, as part of a broader “Liberation Day” trade policy that also included a universal 10 per cent tariff on most imports from other countries.
This is currently on a 90-day pause, with the universal rate being imposed.
