KOTA KINABALU: Chambers of Commerce in Sabah, which have been issuing Certificates of Origin for exports of products to the USA manufactured in their respective districts in Sabah, will no longer be authorised to do so with effect from 6 May 2025.
This is according to the official announcement by the Federal Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Tengku Zahfrul Abdul Aziz, two days ago, Datuk Yong Teck Lee SAPP President and former Chief Minister said in a statement.
Henceforth, only the Federal Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry is authorised to issue such Certificates of Origin, he said.
“The immediate question is, how does the Ministry at Putrajaya and even its branch office at Kota Kinabalu have sufficient and reliable information on the Sabah exporters and products concerned in order to issue such Certificates of Origin?”
This sudden change in exports regulations is bound to have a stifling impact on the RM1 billion worth of exports of Sabah products directly to the US, he said.
“Sabah’s exports to the US, valued at RM1 billion (out of Sabah’s total exports of RM100 billion) consist of mainly oil and gas, palm oil and timber products and copper. The regulation here is not about tariffs but about the origin of the products.”
He said, the relevant business organisations, Chambers of Commerce, trade bodies, and exporters are advised to quickly engage with the relevant authorities in order to ensure the smooth conduct of business and exports, including ports operations.
At the moment, this new regulation on Certificates of Origin affects only exports to the US because it is aimed at preventing the illegal transhipment of non-Malaysian products (meaning China) via Malaysian ports to the US. But, if the ongoing trade war continues, then it is possible that the new regulation (on issuing on Certificates of Origin only by the Federal Ministry) might be extended to other export destinations, he concluded.-pr/BNN
