Malaysia denies granting US exclusive rare earth access in Trump trade deal

The Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister assured the House of Representatives that the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade creates no binding supply obligations or market preferences. Malaysia, he confirmed, remains free to manage its strategic mineral exports without restriction to any single nation.

During the debate on the motion of thanks for the Royal Address on Thursday, Arthur firmly dismissed speculation of a trade-off.

“The government also wishes to stress that REE was never offered as a concession or quid pro quo in any trade or tariff negotiations with the United States,” he said.

The clarification follows the signing of the pact and a parallel critical minerals agreement in October

. Both documents were signed during the Asean

Summit in Kuala Lumpur, which was attended by US President Donald Trump