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Govt seeks to import more US goods, avoid retaliation on tariffs
The government has vowed to import more goods from the United States to gain leverage in bilateral negotiations and ease tariffs introduced by US President Donald Trump.
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Narrowing trade surplus: Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto speaks at a press conference on March 24 following a meeting on the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) involving ambassadors from nine countries in the International Partners Group (IPG). (TJP/Ni Made Tasyarani)
T
he government has vowed to import more goods from the United States to gain leverage in bilateral negotiations and ease tariffs introduced by US President Donald Trump as Jakarta seeks to avoid retaliatory measures.
Following a multi-stakeholder meeting on Monday, Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said in a press conference that President Prabowo Subianto had instructed him to narrow Indonesia’s US$18 billion surplus in trade with the US by importing more American products.
“[The] President has given the instruction to [narrow the trade surplus by importing] more [US] products that we need, including wheat, cotton or even oil and gas products,” said Airlangga.
He added that the government would probably push for importing more US goods in procurement for national strategic projects, including for refineries.
The senior minister said Jakarta would “take the negotiation path” and will not resort to imposing retaliatory measures, much like “most ASEAN member states”. He said government officials of ASEAN countries would meet on April 10 “to calibrate their stance”.
He went on to say that the US Trade Representative (USTR) “is awaiting a concrete proposal from Indonesia”.
Deputy Industry Minister Faisol Riza told reporters after the meeting that a high-ranking delegation from Jakarta would commence negotiations with White House officials “by April 17 at the latest”.
