Kuala lumpur: The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturing (FMM) has urged the United States (US) to adopt a balanced approach to its proposed Section 301 tariff action on imports linked to forced labour, cautioning that blanket duties could penalise compliant Malaysian manufacturers and disrupt established supply chains. According to BERNAMA News Agency, in a submission to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), FMM president Jacob Lee Chor Kok expressed full support for efforts to eliminate forced labour from global supply chains but emphasized that any additional tariffs should not unfairly affect manufacturers that already comply with stringent labour standards. 'Many Malaysian manufacturers exporting to the US already operate under strict customer-driven labour compliance requirements, including audits, supplier codes of conduct and traceability obligations,' he noted. The federation highlighted concerns that the proposed additional duty could burden US commerce by raising costs for U S importers, manufacturers, and consumers, particularly where Malaysian suppliers are integral to long-standing and specialised supply chains. Feedback from FMM members indicates that these additional costs may be transferred directly or partly to US customers, potentially impacting pricing, product availability, and delivery times. FMM's recommendations to the USTR include retaining existing Annex A exclusions, especially for electrical and electronics products, semiconductors, and related product lines, which are crucial to global supply chains. The federation also urged the US not to subject Malaysian products already covered under Section 232 tariffs to further duties under the proposed Section 301 action. Lee stressed the importance of establishing a periodic review mechanism, at least annually, to evaluate the necessity and appropriateness of any duty rate applied to Malaysian-origin goods. He highlighted Malaysia's efforts to improve labour compliance through reforms to recruitment-fee practices, ame ndments to labour laws, and remediation measures following previous US Customs and Border Protection Withhold Release Orders. Lee cited the creation of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Forced Labour, announced by Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani in Parliament on June 23, as evidence of Malaysia's continued commitment to addressing forced labour issues. He asserted that Malaysia's ongoing reform efforts should be acknowledged in any future assessment by USTR, and that a periodic review mechanism would provide a structured way to consider Malaysia's domestic framework improvements. FMM plans to continue engaging the Malaysian government, the USTR, and other stakeholders to support measures that effectively eliminate forced labour while preserving legitimate trade, supply-chain resilience, and the competitiveness of responsible manufacturers. On June 2, the USTR published its findings under the Section 301 investigation on forced labour involving Malaysia, proposing a 10 per cent tariff on Malaysian goods upon the expiry of the tariff imposed under Section 122 of the Trade Act 1974 on July 24.