He said the US has also announced this tariff policy for 92 other countries.
"The tariff has been announced to 92 countries. Indonesia has finalized (the agreement) and it will take effect on August 7," he stated on Friday.
According to Hartarto, Indonesia’s 19 percent tariff is one of the lowest in Southeast Asia, with the exception of Singapore, which receives a 10 percent tariff from the US.
The minister believes Indonesia still has significant opportunities to compete in the US export market, especially when compared to India, which is one of Indonesia’s main competitors in the textile and textile products sector. The US currently imposes a 25 percent import tariff on India.
He noted that the new tariff policy opens up opportunities to improve Indonesia’s competitiveness in the US market, particularly for major Indonesian products that are not produced in the US and are therefore subject to lower tariffs.
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“If all parties are on a level playing field, it means that competitiveness is just being increased, and several of our commodities that the US does not produce are subject to lower tariffs,” he explained.
Hartarto said several Indonesian commodities receive zero percent import tariffs, including copper concentrate and copper cathode. This aligns with strategic discussions on mineral trade between the two countries.
“We have zero percent tariffs for copper concentrate and copper cathode, in line with our discussions regarding strategic minerals, including copper, which the US has already announced. These are what we call industrial commodities, secondary processed beyond the raw ore stage,” he remarked.
He also noted that in ongoing negotiations, Indonesia is pushing for several other strategic commodities to receive zero percent tariff exemptions. These include crude palm oil, rubber, meranti wood, and copper derivative products.
In addition to tariff negotiations, the Indonesia–US trade agreement includes commitments for Indonesia to purchase several US products. These include energy products worth US$15 billion, agricultural goods worth US$4.5 billion, and the procurement of 50 Boeing aircraft, mostly Boeing 777 models.
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Translator: Bayu Saputra, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: M Razi Rahman
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