CAA heat reaches international trade; Malaysia faces curbs for criticising Modi

Amidst the protests and unrest over CAA within the country, international criticism too gets strong.

After the UN and the US, Malaysian PM also showed concerns over the rigid decisions by the Modi government.

Modi government has shown unhealthy reactions after the Malaysian PM's remarks over CAA and Kashmir.

India first restricted the palm oil trade with Malaysia and is now looking to further step up the heat on Malaysia with a plan to restrict the import of microprocessors.

The trade dispute is unlikely to be sorted out soon as Malaysia continues to rile India over Kashmir and the CAA.

Modi government is working on imposing technical standards on microprocessors.

Customs authorities have been asked to ensure compliance of the quality control order to restrict the entry of Malaysian equipment into India.

Malaysian PM Mohamad Mahathir said he was worried over the trade restrictions but added that he would continue to speak out against “wrong things”.

“We are concerned, of course, because we sell a lot of palm oil to India, but, on the other hand, we need to be frank and see that if something goes wrong, we will have to say it."

“If we allow things to go wrong and think only about the money involved, then I think a lot of wrong things will be done, by us and by other people,” he added.

The mines ministry is keeping tabs on imports and may initiate action in the coming weeks.

Malaysian palm oil already faces 50% import tariff, due to a 5% safeguard duty, compared to 45% on Indonesian oil.

India’s trade with Malaysia was estimated at over $17 billion, with exports pegged at $6.4 billion, while imports were estimated at $10.8 billion.