"That has been an issue for a long time, so we are ready," he added in Jakarta on Wednesday.
The potential for such a trade war is predicted to emerge after Donald Trump officially becomes president.
Trump is known to have proposed a 100-percent tariff policy for BRICS member countries and a 60-percent tariff increase on Chinese products, which could escalate geopolitical tensions and disrupt global supply chains.
Santoso said that one of the key ways to maintain the economy amid tensions is improving competitiveness. According to him, strong competitiveness would make Indonesia attractive to other countries due to its advantages in trading goods and services.
"It was almost the same (during Trump's previous leadership), so we have to be ready. The most important thing is that we have competitiveness. If we are competitive, then we compete with other countries, our competitiveness is strong, that's the most important thing, so we won't lose," he expounded.
He further said that the government will explore new approaches to establish bilateral economic cooperation with the US.
"We will try to approach again to figure out a good relation so that we can penetrate their market," he added.
Earlier, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, said that Indonesia will seek a reduction in trade tariffs from the US through bilateral cooperation.
The effort will be made as a mitigation measure against the upcoming import tariff policies during Trump's presidency.
"We are requesting bilateral economic cooperation to reduce tariffs," he informed after the IBC Business Competitiveness Outlook 2025 event in Jakarta on Monday.
He said that Indonesia-US trade cooperation could be pursued through various mechanisms, including a free-trade agreement (FTA).
Trump will be inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States on January 20, 2025. In the run-up to the inauguration, Hartarto noted, the US has begun imposing tariffs on Indonesian imported products, such as apparel and commodities.
Translator: Kuntum Khaira Riswan
Editor: Aditya Eko Sigit Wicaksono
Copyright © ANTARA 2025
