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Trump policies could cast shadow over Indonesia, Asia
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Republican presidential nominee and former United States President Donald Trump gestures as he holds hands with his wife Melania during a rally at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in Florida, the US, on Nov. 6, 2024. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
P
rotectionist trade policies under US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration could cause slower growth and higher unemployment in Indonesia and Asia as a whole, analysts say.
Countries around the world have begun to prepare for Trump’s inauguration in January 2025, with many expecting dramatic policy changes and an escalation of the US-China rivalry.
In a public discussion hosted by Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Jakarta on Monday, experts and a representative from the Foreign Ministry debated the geopolitical impacts of the elections happening worldwide this year, paying particular attention the US’.
They predicted that geopolitical anxiety surrounding the US-China strategic competition would likely worsen in the coming years, with Trump expected to act more unilaterally on the global stage and attach less significance to ASEAN.
Trump, who ran on a nationalist, America-first platform, would likely turn the US into a more isolationist country, and Southeast Asian countries could see decreased engagement, foreign aid and foreign direct investment from the US going forward, experts at the discussion said.
“Indonesia and ASEAN are anxious over the prospect of a second Trump administration,” said Shafiah Muhibat of the CSIS.
“We are expecting a more unilateral, protectionist approach. The US may also be more assertive toward China, [which] will be very impactful for Indonesia and Southeast Asia,” she said.
