Former Malaysian PM warns U.S. tariffs will backfire

KUALA LUMPUR, April 25 (Xinhua) -- The continued imposition of unreasonable tariffs by the U.S. will backfire, with the administration of President Donald Trump likely to face mounting domestic pressure to reverse the policy, former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has warned.

Trump's tariffs would "hurt America more than the rest of the world," citing the country's heavy reliance on imported goods and outsourced manufacturing, Mahathir said in a statement.

"America practically has no local products. This is because for more than a decade, America had depended on imported products because they are cheap," he said.

Mahathir argued that the tariffs would trigger a rise in living costs, wage demands, and production expenses, ultimately eroding U.S. global competitiveness and leading to potential unrest. "There will be a lot of demonstrations," he warned. "It will not become great."

"If America tries to produce all these products in the U.S., the cost would be so high that they would not sell well. And they can not be exported because they can not compete in the world market," he said.