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View all search resultsClear business climate ‘dealmaker’ amid rising protectionism, USABC says
The Jakarta Post’s Ruth Dea Juwita and Aditya Hadi sat down with USABC president and CEO Brian McFeeters to discuss about geopolitical uncertainty and the fate of the US-Indonesia agreement on reciprocal trade (ART).
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US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) president and CEO Brian McFeeters poses in an undated picture.
(Courtesy of/US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC))
S
ince 1984, the United States-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) has bridged the private sector and governments across Southeast Asia, with cumulative US foreign direct investment in ASEAN reaching US$532 billion, making the US the bloc’s largest external investor.
The Jakarta Post’s Ruth Dea Juwita and Aditya Hadi sat down with USABC president and CEO Brian McFeeters to discuss geopolitical uncertainty and the fate of the US-Indonesia agreement on reciprocal trade (ART), which remains in limbo pending legal issues in Washington.
Question: How are US businesses navigating today’s climate of geopolitical conflict, supply chain disruption and the added complication of tariffs imposed by Washington, especially in Southeast Asia?
Answer: The US business community is more or less proceeding with what they’d planned. Companies recognize tariff uncertainty, nobody knows what the final tariff numbers or rules will be, but if a company has a plan in Indonesia, it proceeds based on the conditions on the ground.
What matters is a clear, predictable, transparent business climate.
We have a shorthand within USABC where we say VIP: Vietnam, Indonesia and Philippines, are the top countries of interest. Vietnam attracts with its manufacturing growth, while Indonesia draws with its huge domestic market and digitally savvy young population.
How do you view Indonesia’s business climate today under President Prabowo Subianto, who has a different approach to trade and industrial policies compared with the former administration?
