KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 -- US President Donald Trump has announced a 25 per cent tariff on all Malaysian products entering the United States, effective August 1.

The move, detailed in a letter to His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, the King of Malaysia, marks a sharp escalation in US-Malaysia trade relations.

Trump cited Malaysia's "Tariff, and Non Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers" as the basis for the decision.

The president claimed the US has suffered "many years" of unsustainable trade deficits with Malaysia.

He described the imbalance as a threat to both the US economy and national security.

Trump further expressed disappointment over the lack of reciprocity in the bilateral trading relationship.

"Our relationship has been, unfortunatel...