[CTC] GTW: Trump’s Secret Trade Deals with Malaysia and Cambodia Revealed: Imperialist Bullying on Behalf of Big Tech, Other Corporate Interests

[Arthur Stamoulis]

*Trump’s Secret Trade Deals with Malaysia and Cambodia Revealed:
Imperialist Bullying on Behalf of Big Tech, Other Corporate Interests
<https://www.citizen.org/news/trumps-secret-trade-deals-with-malaysia-and-cambodia-revealed-imperialist-bullying-on-behalf-of-big-tech-other-corporate-interests/>*

For Immediate Release: October 29, 2025

Contact: Emily Leach, eleach at citizen.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As Donald Trump travels through Asia, he has been
attempting to win applause for trade deals inked over the weekend with
Malaysia and Cambodia. As these deals were negotiated under a complete
shroud of secrecy, the American people have had no input into the substance
of these deals. An early review of the texts
<https://ustr.gov/about/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2025/october/ambassador-greer-issues-statement-us-trade-deals-southeast-asian-countries>
 reveals new handouts to Big Tech and other corporate interests, with
little to nothing that will help working people in the U.S.  While we will
continue to analyze the texts, below are some initial takeaways.

While trade deals have historically been loaded with provisions harmful to
developing countries, in general, those rules at least apply to all
signatory countries equally. These latest pacts, however, have achieved new
levels of imperialist bullying. The Malaysia and Cambodia deals assign a
laundry list of requirements on both countries to change domestic laws and
practices with practically no requirements on the U.S. side. Though there
is a lot of binding language, the deals do not include any enforcement
mechanisms or penalties, so it is unclear how meaningful any of the
commitments really are. And, basically, Trump could decide at any time to
raise tariffs on Malaysia and Cambodia again.

The biggest winners from these agreements appear to be Big Tech CEOs, as
Malaysia and Cambodia will be required to repeal or refrain from enacting
an array of policies that seek to check Big Tech's runaway power.

   - They are prohibited from imposing *taxes on digital service
providers* operating
   within their borders or customs duties on electronic transmissions,
   implying that Big Tech companies will continue to avoid paying their fair
   share, despite profiting off of users in these countries

   - They may not require review of *algorithms and source code *as a
   condition for market access, limiting efforts to enhance transparency and
   accountability of software and AI systems. This makes citizens less safe,
   as demonstrated for instance, by Volkswagen selling millions of cars with
   emissions cheating software.

   - They are prohibited from regulating exports of data, exposing their
   citizens' personal information to misuse.

   - Because U.S. tech giants have cornered various digital markets so
   thoroughly, any attempt to regulate the digital ecosystem could be
   construed to be discriminatory because any such laws will primarily impact
   them. Thus, trade pact text prohibiting “discriminatory” digital laws puts
   at risk *competition policies*, revenue-sharing requirements, various
   taxes, and* obligations for social media platforms *to monitor and
   remove illegal and dangerous content.

The agreements require these Asian countries to accept imports that meet
U.S. FDA and other *health and safety requirements *forbidding them to
require any additional standards, despite Robert Kennedy Jr. and his MAHA
mania undermining our health standards at every turn.

   - Malaysia and Cambodia must automatically accept without question all
   U.S. standards and practices around medical devices, agricultural food
   safety, meat and poultry disease management, and genetically modified
   foods.

   - The deals ban so-called “non-scientific” health and safety policies,
   which is trade speak for policies that are more precautionary than the
   corporate-maximalist U.S. approach.

   - Malaysia may not suspend a U.S. exporter’s shipments until there have
   been “multiple instances” of pesticide residue over U.S. and
   internationally recognized safety levels.

   - Malaysia, a majority-Muslim country, must accept U.S. certifications
   of Halal food and potentially lift restrictions on importation of certain
   alcoholic drinks.

The deals put requirements on Malaysia and Cambodia that are harmful to
their sovereignty and development goals.

   - Malaysia may not restrict exports of its own minerals, which is a
   common tool to support a country moving beyond a low-income,
   extraction-based economy.

   - For both countries, the deals prohibit restrictions on imports of
   refurbished or second-hand goods. Many countries have seen the harm that
   imports of cheap, second-hand goods can have on domestic industries,
   including textile and clothing production. Countries should be free to take
   actions to support domestic industries and not be forced to accept rich
   countries’ fast-fashion waste.

   - These deals even put restrictions on the positions Malaysia and
   Cambodia may take in international fora like the World Trade Organization,
   and on the terms of agreements they enter into with other countries, for
   example on health and safety. They specifically allow the U.S. to have the
   final say on digital trade agreements that Malaysia and Cambodia sign with
   third parties. (The U.S. makes no such “reciprocal” commitments to Malaysia
   or Cambodia.)
   - Malaysia and Cambodia must align their export control measures and
   sanctions, with those imposed by the U.S.

The deals do nothing to meaningfully address the “race to the bottom” that
has harmed U.S. workers or to protect public interest safeguards.

   - Provisions around labor and environmental standards may look good on
   paper, but they are meaningless without enforcement. This means that
   multinational corporations can continue to offshore U.S. jobs to take
   advantage of exploitation of workers and environmental degradation.

   - Despite all the new obligations, there is a tiny footnote that says,
   “Malaysia has the right to regulate in the public interest.” We have seen
   time and again that exceptions like this are completely insufficient. In
   the WTO’s nearly 30 years of existence, in 46 out of 48 cases
   <https://www.citizen.org/article/wto-general-exceptions-trade-laws-faulty-ivory-tower/>,
   governments were unsuccessful in using a similar “general exception” to
   defend domestic policies challenged as illegal. Even this paltry footnote
   is not present in the Cambodia deal.

###



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<https://www.citizen.org/experts/>.*
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