"This is a really good momentum for ASEAN to create strategic regional independence in the field of economy," he said at the "Public Forum: Regional Response to Trump 2.0" event, which was accessed online from here on Thursday.
He noted that the United States' contribution to global trade is around 14–15.5 percent. Based on this, he underscored the potential for 80 percent of global trade activities that can be explored outside the US.
In addition, he highlighted the value of US global trade, which is around US$400 billion.
"Interestingly, intra-ASEAN trade in 2024 reached US$759 billion," he added.
The comparison shows that trade between ASEAN member countries is going very well, even exceeding US contribution at the global level.
Therefore, he said he considers it important for ASEAN to use the opportunity to strengthen regional independence.
"Maybe we need to review or at least evaluate the ASEAN free trade agreement," he added.
According to Oegroseno, ASEAN should learn from the European Union (EU) in eliminating trade barriers between member countries.
Although the EU's internal market is much more advanced than ASEAN's, it would be good for the regional grouping to adopt a trade mechanism similar to the European bloc, he added.
On April 2, 2025, US President Donald Trump announced "reciprocal" tariffs on several countries, with Indonesia slapped with a 32-percent tariff. The Trump administration also imposed a 10-percent baseline tariff on imports from all countries.
Other Southeast Asian countries affected by the tariff include the Philippines, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia. The US has levied tariffs of 17 percent, 10 percent, 49 percent, 46 percent, 36 percent, and 24 percent, respectively, on those countries.
However, on April 9, Trump announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for several countries, except China, whose tariff has been increased to 125 percent.
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Translator: Putu Indah, Raka Adji
Editor: Arie Novarina
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