US signs trade deals with Malaysia, Cambodia after peace agreement

By Yasin Gungor

ISTANBUL (AA) - The US signed trade agreements with Malaysia and Cambodia and a critical minerals deal with Thailand on Sunday, after overseeing the signing of a peace accord between Phnom Penh and Bangkok in Kuala Lumpur.

US President Donald Trump presided over the ceremony, alongside Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, joined by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

"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.

He tied continued economic cooperation to maintaining peace between Cambodia and Thailand. "The United States will have robust commerce and cooperation, transactions ... with both nations, as long as they live in peace," he said. The two countries had ended border hostilities back in July.

Charnvirakul announced a joint statement "on the framework for US-Thailand agreement on reciprocal trade," aiming to conclude tariff negotiations by the end of 2025.

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.

Trump called the Cambodia trade deal "great for both countries."

With Malaysia, besides the "historic" trade deal, a memorandum of understanding "which will lead to an expansion of trade and investments in critical minerals" was also signed.

US trade representative Jamieson Greer said the memorandum “ensures that trade investment in critical minerals between Malaysia and the United States can be as free as possible and as resilient as possible.”

He said these minerals are crucial for manufacturing, technology and the US economy, and underlined the importance of a smooth and secure supply chain.

In 2024, the US-Malaysia total trade volume was $86.5 billion, US-Cambodia trade valued at $13.5 billion, while US and Thailand exchanged $88.3 billion worth of goods and services.

The US imposes 19% tariff on all three nations under its "reciprocal" tariff policy.