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Indonesia seeks limited trade deal with US after GSP extension
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Vehicles travel down Jl. Pak Kasih at the Pelindo II-operated Dwikora river port on the Kapuas River in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, in this undated photo. (The Jakarta Post/Severianus Endi)
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ndonesia plans to propose a limited trade deal with the United States to lower tariffs and thus boost exports, an official said on Monday, after getting an extension of a preferential trade facility.
The limited trade deal was expected to cut tariffs of above 5 percent on Indonesian goods by a half, said Indonesian Ambassador to the US Muhammad Lutfi.
“I am going to write a letter to the [United States Trade Representative] to propose [this to] the US, and hopefully we will get a positive response,” Lutfi said in a virtual briefing on Monday evening.
Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan, Trade Minister Agus Suparmanto, Communications and Information Minister Johny Plate and State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir were expected to visit Washington on Nov. 15 for the trade talks, Lufti added.
The plan follows the US decision on Sunday to extend the general system of preferences (GSP) facility for Indonesian exports after 2.5 years of review, thus maintaining tariffs on 3,572 commodities at zero.
Indonesia is one of 120 countries that have benefited from the GSP, the oldest and largest US trade preference program. It eliminates duties on thousands of products to promote economic development in beneficiary countries and territories.
