Jakarta - Deputy Minister of Investment and Downstreaming\/Deputy Head\nof BKPM, Todotua Pasaribu, affirmed that Indonesia will not be the\ntarget of a United States (US) boycott in trade and investment\ncooperation. He ensured that there are no agreements that could\npotentially involve Indonesia in a trade boycott scheme, as experienced\nby several other countries. \u201cThere is no such agreement (regarding a\nboycott). We still adhere to the principle of cooperation, free and\nactive trade, with the US and other institutions,\u201d he said in Jakarta,\nthis week.<\/p>\n
Todotua emphasized that the direction of the government\u2019s policy\nunder President Prabowo Subianto is very clear, especially in\nmaintaining national independence without closing the door to global\ncooperation. \u201cOur President is clear, President Prabowo is clear,\u201d he\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He believes that communication in the field of trade and investment\nis an important instrument to maintain Indonesia\u2019s economic stability\nand competitiveness. \u201cOur independence is our business, there is no\ninterference. But that we must open communication in order to promote\ntrade and investment, yes, that is a must,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Previously, the Indonesian Minister of Trade, Budi Santoso, ensured\nthat the import tariff policy in the reciprocal trade agreement with the\nUnited States of 19% would not affect Indonesia\u2019s export performance or\nthe national trade balance.<\/p>\n
He explained that so far, Indonesia\u2019s exports still record a surplus,\nincluding with the US, which is one of the main trading partners. \u201cRight\nnow, we have a surplus. Our largest surplus is with America, the second\nlargest is with India. So, there is no problem,\u201d he said. \u201cOh, no, no\n(impact from the 19% tariff),\u201d Budi told reporters on Tuesday (February\n24).<\/p>\n
Furthermore, Budi said that in the trade agreement that has been\nagreed upon, Indonesia actually gets many benefits in the form of 0%\ntariffs for various export commodities. With these facilities, he\nbelieves that Indonesia\u2019s export performance has the potential to grow\nhigher.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur largest surplus is with America, the second largest is with\nIndia. So there is no problem. Secondly, in this agreement, we get a lot\nof 0 percent tariffs. So it should actually increase. In fact, we want\nto increase exports,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Responding to the view that Indonesia\u2019s trade balance could be\ndepressed due to US tariff policies, Budi denied it again. According to\nhim, imports from the US are not a major problem because most of the\ngoods that enter are commodities that are indeed needed in the\ncountry.<\/p>\n
Previously, Indonesia officially agreed on a reciprocal trade\nagreement with a 19 percent tariff with the United States (US). There\nare 1,819 tariff items regulated in the trade agreement between the two\ncountries.<\/p>\n
The signing of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) was carried\nout by President Prabowo Subianto and US President Donald Trump. The\nagreement was signed after the inaugural agenda of the Gaza Peace\nCouncil or Board of Peace (BoP) meeting.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndonesia and the United States agreed to strengthen economic\ncooperation,\u201d said Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga\nHartarto, in a virtual press conference, last week.<\/p>\n
He recounted the negotiation process which began in April 2025 when\nDonald Trump announced that Indonesia would be subject to a reciprocal\ntariff of 32 percent. Negotiations resulted in a reduction in tariffs to\n19 percent with various other additional provisions. \u201c90 percent of the\ndocumentation sent by Indonesia was fulfilled by the United States. So\nIndonesia\u2019s proposal was fulfilled by the United States as outlined in\nthe Agreement on Reciprocal Tariff,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Local Content (TKDN) Issue<\/p>\n
Todotua Pasaribu emphasized that the relaxation of the Domestic\nContent Level (TKDN) with the United States (US) is part of the trade\nagreement. This step is an effort to remove non-tariff barriers for the\nUS.<\/p>\n
He ensured that there would be no negative impact from the TKDN\nrelaxation on the investment climate in Indonesia. This is because the\nvalues and figures in the trade with the US are clear.<\/p>\n
Todo\u2019s belief is strengthened because not all requirements are\nsubject to the relaxation. For him, this is part of a strategy. \u201cIf it\u2019s\njust part of a strategy, some of the requirements are relaxed,\u201d he\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He ensured that the relaxation of TKDN for US products does not mean\nthat Indonesia will be completely drained. This is because in the trade\npractices between the two countries, there are clear figures. \u201cBut there\nare also calculations of our trade that we take from them, it doesn\u2019t\nhave too much influence on that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Previously, the Indonesian Government through the Coordinating\nMinistry for Economic Affairs stated that the policy on the domestic\ncontent level (TKDN) remains in effect and is applied. This answers the\nquestion about the application of the TKDN policy in the reciprocal\ntrade agreement or agreement on reciprocal trade (ART) with the United\nStates.<\/p>\n
The Spokesperson for the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs,\nHaryo Limanseto, said that the TKDN policy remains in effect and is\napplied in the context of government procurement. This means that the\nTKDN provisions relate to projects or government spending, not all goods\ncirculating in the market. \u201cThis is carried out as an effort to promote\nthe use of Indonesian-made products,\u201d he said, last week.<\/p>\n
According to Haryo, goods sold commercially in the national market or\ndirectly to consumers are generally not required to have TKDN. \u201cThus,\nthese provisions do not change the mechanism of competition for goods in\nthe retail market or industry in general and do not immediately create\nunfair conditions for domestic business actors,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In one of the points of the trade agreement between Indonesia and the\nUnited States regarding the elimination of non-tariff barriers,\nIndonesia will address various non-tariff barriers, such as exempting US\ncompanies and goods of origin from local content requirements.<\/p>\n
Previously, Director of Digital Economy at the Center of Economic and\nLaw Studies (Celios), Nailul Huda, said that there are<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesia-will-not-be-subject-to-us-boycott-1772147747", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }