"President Prabowo has ordered the removal of import quotas on goods essential to the people's livelihoods. This directive from President Prabowo is certainly a refreshing air for improving import policies," he said here on Wednesday.
He added that this momentum could also serve as a comprehensive reform of Indonesia's international trade policy.
On a macro level, he continued, import policies must consider the trade balance to ensure that it remains in surplus.
"The tariff policy implemented by President Trump currently aims to prevent their trade balance deficit from going deeper," he noted.
Furthermore, he said he believes that imports should prioritize goods that are unavailable in the domestic market.
However, he added that Indonesia should be able to meet its needs through domestic production as it aspires to become a self-sufficient country, at least in primary sectors such as food and energy.
It is also necessary to consider other policy directions to strengthen the national industry, with a focus on increasing the domestic component level (TKDN) proportion.
"We must learn from the decline of national textile products due to the influx of imported products," Abdullah said.
Furthermore, considering the increasingly complex needs for goods and services as well as their interconnections in the supply chain, government and business actors are expected not to rely on imports from specific countries.
Instead, there should be an import expansion to alternative countries, he added.
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Translator: Imamatul, Kenzu
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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