US President Donald Trump this month threatened massive 46 percent levies on Vietnam, with Washington accusing the country of facilitating Chinese exports to the United States and allowing Beijing to get around tariffs.

South Korea's economy unexpectedly contracted in the first quarter as exports and consumption stalled amid fears over the impact of Washington's aggressive tariffs, fanning expectations of more interest rate cuts.

Since Trump began a second term in January, he has unleashed a tit-for-tat trade battle with Beijing that has seen US levies on many Chinese goods reach 145 percent.

Worldwide economic output will slow in the months ahead as US President Donald Trump's steep tariffs on virtually all trading partners begin to bite, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday, as global finance chiefs swarmed Washington seeking deals with Trump's team to lower the levies.

People living in Greater Jakarta area took to social media expressing their frustration as they were stuck in traffic leading to the port for hours.  

As a top-tier government delegation kicks off trade talks in Washington, Jakarta is counting on critical minerals to help secure access to the United States market for Indonesian goods, but the highly protectionist administration led by President Donald Trump is looking to reduce import dependence in that area too.

Indonesia unexpectedly booked a large trade surplus in March thanks to surging exports to the United States before import tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump took effect.

China on Monday warned countries against striking a broader economic deal with the United States at its expense, ratcheting up its rhetoric in a spiraling trade war between the world's two biggest economies.

Fiscal discipline is the key to riding out the "perfect storm" swirling around the state budget due to weakening exports amid a global trade war and planned tariff concessions to appease Washington, according to economists who also cautioned about the government's readiness in strategizing for a worst-case scenario.

Both sides have agreed that the negotiations, set to complete within 60 days, will include investment and trade partnerships, critical minerals and the development of a reliable supply chain corridor.

Rubio and Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono "discussed ways to deepen defense and security cooperation, including efforts to uphold freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea in accordance with international law," the State Department said in a statement.

Respondents to the survey said they were more optimistic about the outlook for the next three to six months, as they expect sales to increase in May and August thanks to Independence Day on Aug. 17.

If China exports fewer goods to the US, he said, there will be fewer containers in the trade path between the two countries, which would reduce the availability of containers for shipments to other destinations.

President Donald Trump has ratcheted up tariffs on Chinese goods to eye-watering levels, prompting Beijing to slap retaliatory duties on US imports in an intensifying trade war between the world's two biggest economies that markets fear will lead to a global recession.

Leading vegetable oil processor Apical is optimistic about its sustainability achievements as it reaches the halfway point of its Apical2030 sustainability commitment.

The US is Indonesia’s second largest export market after China. Experts have warned US trade policy could weigh on the archipelago’s gross domestic product growth and to some extent lead to layoffs in impacted industries.

Consumer confidence continued its downward trend in March, falling for the third consecutive month and hitting its lowest since October 2024.

The government seeks to ask unemployed graduates to return to villages, who would later be provided with training.

Before the world felt the blow from US tariffs, there were an estimated 80,000 layoffs in Indonesia last year, according to official data from the Manpower Ministry. The ministry also estimated another 18,610 workers were laid off during the first two months of this year

China's exports rose sharply in March after factories rushed out shipments before the latest US tariffs took effect, but an escalating Sino-US trade war has darkened the outlook for factories and growth in the world's second-biggest economy.

Diversifying exports to countries beyond the US is unfeasible in the short term because of either limited market demand or intense competition from local players in target countries.

Indonesian palm oil companies are seeking new markets in Europe, Africa and the Middle East as they try to protect themselves from the impact of Donald Trump's trade war, a top industry executive told AFP.

The two sides "exchanged views on Taiwan-US reciprocal tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers, and a number of other economic and trade issues including export controls".

Indonesia is considering to boost imports of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States, but experts urge caution to avoid harming local industries and stress prioritizing long-term national interests over trade pressure.

A former World Trade Organization boss has said the future terms of global trade, rocked by US President Donald Trump's sweeping protectionist tariffs, could be decided outside the 30-year-old international watchdog unless it reforms itself fast.

Southeast Asian countries are looking to boost trade with their neighbors as a way to stave off the impending impacts of US tariffs following the 90-day reprieve, given that intra-ASEAN trade in 2023 totaled US$759 billion, around a third higher than the region’s total trade with the US last year.

The government and economists agree that an increasingly protectionist US trade policy is weighing on Indonesia’s economic growth, but the full extent of the damage will depend on the final tariffs Washington imposes on goods from the archipelago and its trade partners.

The economic ministers of the ten member states explained that retaliation would not be beneficial as the US was Southeast Asia’s biggest source of foreign direct investment and second-largest trading partner in 2024. The US was also the bloc’s fifth largest trading partner in the same year.

Before a 90-day pause was announced by US President Donald Trump on the implementation of US tariffs, six of nine Southeast Asian countries targeted by the US administration were slapped with much bigger-than-expected tariffs of between 32 percent and 49 percent. 

"There are many French companies investing in Indonesia in the energy sector, tech or transportation. There are many sectors in which France excels," he said.