During a meeting with the US Ambassador to Indonesia Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir here on Friday, he informed that, as part of the mitigation efforts, Indonesia is trying not to devise any policy that could hurt domestic exports to the US.
In addition, Indonesia and the US will organize a business meeting soon to align trade perceptions.
"We must maintain the (US) market by not preventing their products from entering Indonesia, so our market access to the US will not be disrupted," Santoso said.
He further said that both Indonesia and the US are optimistic that bilateral cooperation will continue to run well and trade relations will improve.
"Ambassador (Lakhdhir) and I agreed that we must maintain good relations. Hopefully, we will not be affected (by the US trade policy)," he added.
Based on government data, the US remains the largest contributor to Indonesia's trade surplus, valued at USD16.84 billion.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced his plan to apply a 25-percent tariff on all imported steel and aluminum commodities.
Trump's administration has imposed a 10-percent tariff on goods originating from China. In response, Beijing has slapped an additional 15-percent tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) coming from the US.
Trump has also threatened to impose a 100-percent import duty on goods from BRICS countries and a 60-percent tariff on Chinese products, which could further escalate geopolitical tensions and disrupt global supply chains.
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Translator: Maria Cicilia Galuh Prayudhia, Yashinta Difa
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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