"Indonesia has just joined BRICS and has applied to join the CPTPP. This is expected to open up new markets, be it the UK, Mexico, and other Latin American countries," Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto stated during an online press conference on the development of Indonesia-US trade negotiations on Friday.
He clarified that this market expansion aligns with efforts to complete several strategic trade agreements, such as the Indonesia-European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU-CEPA).
"We have communicated with the IEU-CEPA commissioner, and they are now very open and want the IEU-CEPA (negotiations) to be completed soon. This is a fairly fundamental change," he added.
Airlangga emphasized that expanding the export market to BRICS, CPTPP, and EU countries forms part of the government's long-term strategy to mitigate US tariff pressures while enhancing the competitiveness of national exports in the global market.
Meanwhile, he affirmed that Indonesia continues to encourage bilateral trade negotiations with the US.
As part of the negotiations, the government offered a cooperation proposal containing five national interests, including meeting energy needs, securing competitive export market access, deregulating domestic businesses, strengthening supply chains for strategic industries and critical minerals, and advancing cooperation in science and technology in the health, agriculture, and renewable energy sectors.
He highlighted that Indonesia's approach received a positive response from high-ranking US officials, including from the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), the US Department of the Treasury, and the US Department of Commerce.
"Dialogue and detailed technical discussions will be carried out in the next two weeks," he remarked.
Airlangga also noted that Indonesia was among the first countries to actively engage in the negotiation process with the US following President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs policy.
He stated that this step could provide benefits for Indonesia.
Currently, Indonesia is preparing five specific sectors to be discussed further with the US. It has also formed a working group to accelerate the discussion process.
In multilateral forums, Indonesia continues to encourage fair and equal trade and rejects the view that economic cooperation must be a zero-sum game.
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Translator: Bayu Saputra, Yashinta Difa
Editor: Arie Novarina
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