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TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Malaysia will maintain the ban on exporting raw, rare earth metals to protect its domestic resources. The Malaysian Trade Minister stated that this decision comes even after signing a crucial mineral deal with the United States on Wednesday.In parliament, Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz dismissed claims that Malaysia would allow the export of crucial minerals and rare earth metals to the United States for direct profit or strategic purposes."We no longer want to be a country that only digs and ships out cheap raw materials like in the past," Tengku Zafrul stated as cited by CNA. He reiterated that Malaysia will promote foreign investment and technology sharing for mining and processing raw rare earth metals."Our policy is not to prevent trade forever," he said."Our policy is to prevent the export of cheap unprocessed raw materials so that value is added to Malaysia."Malaysia is estimated to have around 16.1 million metric tons of rare earth metal deposits, but lacks the technology to mine and process them. Rare earth metals are crucial for high-tech manufacturing, including electric vehicles, semiconductors, and missiles.Earlier this month, Malaysia was reported to be in talks with China on rare-earth metals processing, stating that Malaysia's state wealth fund, Khazanah Nasional, would partner with a Chinese firm to build a plant in Malaysia.The United States signed separate agreements with Malaysia and Thailand during President Donald Trump's visit to Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. This was to promote cooperation in diversifying crucial mineral supply chains amidst competing efforts by China.According to a joint statement by the U.S. and Malaysia, Malaysia agreed not to impose bans or quotas on the export of crucial minerals or rare earth elements to the United States.Editor's Choice: Philippines to Assume ASEAN Chairmanship from Malaysia in 2026Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
