US signs trade treaties with Cambodia and Malaysia inks framework agreement with Thailand, Vietnam

Kuala Lumpur [Malaysia], October 26 : United States on Sunday signed reciprocal trade agreements with Cambodia and Malayasia and a framework agreement with Thailand and Vietnam during the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

US President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim also oversaw the signing of a peace accord between Phnom Penh and Bangkok.

"Alongside this peace treaty, we also are signing a major trade deal with Cambodia and a very important critical minerals agreement with Thailand," Trump said.

"These landmark deals demonstrate that America can maintain tariffs to shrink the goods trade deficit while opening new markets for American farmers, ranchers, workers, and manufacturers," US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement.

"I thank my counterparts from Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam for their collaboration and commitment in achieving a more balanced trade relationship with the United States."

"We've already seen a great outcome today. We signed two full trade deals with Malaysia and. Cambodia; two agreements in principle with Thailand and Vietnam. We made critical minerals deals. We did a peace deal between Thailand and Cambodia," Greer told Fox News.

A framework for reciprocal trade between the US and Thailand would see the United States maintain a 19 per cent tariff on Thai products while identifying products where tariffs could potentially be adjusted or cut to zero.

Thailand would in turn eliminate tariff barriers on approximately 99 per cent of goods, covering a full range of US industrial and food and agricultural products, the two countries said in a joint statement issued by the White House.

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul in a joint statement "on the framework for US-Thailand agreement on reciprocal trade," said the agreement aims to conclude tariff negotiations by the end of 2025. Thailand is also committed to addressing barriers to US exports, including the acceptance of US made vehicles, the joint statement said.

The governments also signed a memorandum of understanding on critical minerals cooperation, "which will further promote resilient and sustainable supply chains for years to come," Charnvirakul said.

US President Donald Trump announced that the trade deals will provide Americans with unprecedented levels of market access

The United States currently runs its 11th largest goods trade deficit with Thailand. The US total goods trade deficit was $45 billion in 2024.

The United States and Cambodia reached an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade, a legally binding agreement, that will provide American exporters with access to Cambodia's market while bolstering US national and economic security, the White House said.

This landmark Agreement expands Americans' market access with Cambodia eliminating tariffs on 100 per cent of US industrial and agricultural goods with regulatory recognition to simplify export processes.

The United States currently runs its eighteenth largest goods deficit with Cambodia. The US total goods trade deficit with Cambodia was $12.3 billion in 2024.

In the US -Malaysia Reciprocal Trade agreement, Washington committed to maintain a 19 per cent tarrif rate on exports to the US, with zero-rating for key products such as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals that constitute the bulk of what Malaysia sells to America.

In exchange, Malaysia agreed to refrain from imposing quotas on exports to the US of critical minerals or rare earths.

The United States currently runs its fourteenth-largest goods trade deficit with Malaysia. The US total goods trade with Malaysia was $24.9 billion in 2024.

The US and Vietnam agreed to a Framework for an Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair and Balanced Trade, which will provide American exporters access to Viet Nam's market while bolstering US national and economic security, the White House said.

The Trump administration in July announced a 20 per cent base tariff on Vietnam, down from the initial 46 per cent.

Under the framework deal Vietnam will provide preferential market access for US exports by removing tariffs on almost all goods, including food and agricultural products, which will create commercially meaningful market access opportunities for the full range of US exports, supporting high-quality American jobs.

The United States will maintain the 20 percent reciprocal tariff rate for imports of Vietnam and will identify products from the list set out in Annex III to Executive Order 14346 of September 5, 2025, Potential Tariff Adjustments for Aligned Partners, to receive a zero per cent reciprocal tariff rate, the joint statement read.

Under the agreement, Vietnam Airlines has agreed to purchase 50 aircraft from Boeing, worth more than US$8 billion as per a report in the Vietnam News outlet.

Vietnamese companies have signed 20 memorandums of understanding with US companies to purchase US agricultural commodities, with a total estimated value of over US$2.9 billion, the report read.

The United States currently runs its third-largest goods trade deficit with Viet Nam. The US total goods trade with Vietnam was $123.5 billion in 2024.

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