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Indonesia prepares to respond to US tariffs
President Prabowo Subianto has instructed his cabinet to deregulate and remove “restricting regulations” particularly with regard to nontariff barriers.
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Global impact: A cargo ship full of shipping containers is seen on March 6 at the port of Oakland as trade tensions escalate over United States tariffs, in Oakland, California, the US. (Reuters/Carlos Barria)
T
he government has vowed to take measures that alleviate the adverse effects of new United States import tariffs on the Indonesian economy but is holding its cards close to its chest.
Jakarta would “calculate the impact” and “take strategic steps to mitigate the negative impact on Indonesia’s national economy”, reads a statement released by the Foreign Ministry on Thursday.
Finance Ministry spokesman Deni Surjantoro told The Jakarta Post on Friday that the government was “exploring several options” but refused to name them, and the government has not specified what the “strategic steps” might entail.
The Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister had scheduled a press conference for Thursday, the day after US President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on imports from any country, but abruptly canceled the event citing the need for “further discussions among ministries”.
Later in the day, the office published a press release identical to the one from the Foreign Ministry.
According to the statement, Jakarta has been negotiating with Washington since the start of this year and has “coordinated intensively” with multiple stakeholders to brace for the tariffs.
“The Indonesian government will continue to communicate with the US government at various levels, including sending a high-level delegation to Washington, DC, to conduct direct negotiations,” the statement adds.
