Academic Urges Public to Cultivate Habit of Reading Official Indonesia-US Trade Agreement Text

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Professor of Law at the State University of Makassar, Harris Arthur Hedar, has urged the public to cultivate the habit of reading the official text of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) between Indonesia and the United States. He explained that discussions on social media have become increasingly heated and speculative regarding the cooperation agreement, ranging from concerns about potential data breaches to false claims about the removal of halal certification. “The public should not react hastily based on fragmented information and should instead cultivate the habit of reading the official text,” said Professor Harris in a statement received in Jakarta on Wednesday. He reminded that national sovereignty cannot be maintained through momentary emotions, but through a comprehensive understanding of the rules. According to him, the Indonesian people are now frequently engaged in debates not because of a lack of information, but due to an excess of fragmented information. “One person reads a headline and is convinced. Another watches a 30-second video and becomes angry,” he said. However, he added that if the entire Indonesian society truly wants to protect its sovereignty, the first step that should be taken is to read the agreement in its entirety and in a balanced manner. The government has published a document explaining the ART, or a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document. Harris believes that the FAQ can help in understanding the policy direction, although legal certainty ultimately lies in the text of the ART and its appendices. Regarding the data issue, he affirmed that the key lies in the Personal Data Protection Law (UU PDP). However, he urged the public not to simply accept the promise of “security,” but to demand evidence of its enforcement. “A fair narrative is not ‘100 percent safe, and that’s it,’ but rather ‘subject to the UU PDP and therefore must comply with the requirements of the UU PDP,’” said the Vice-Rector of Jayabaya University. On the other hand, although the government has assured that halal certification remains mandatory, Harris senses public concern that needs to be addressed with technical transparency, not just administrative assurances. He also highlighted the issue of the Domestic Component Level (TKDN). In his view, industrial sovereignty is not just about prohibiting imports, but ensuring that local industries have a “ladder” to upgrade through technology transfer and real investment. Regarding military issues, although the government guarantees that there are no defence clauses, he still offers critical observations. In the digital age, he believes that geopolitics can infiltrate through supply chains and technology. “A more mature statement is that there are no defence clauses, but strategic impacts can still arise through the design of economic policies. This is not paranoia, it is the reality of the modern world,” said Harris. Therefore, he hopes that the government can be more transparent and the public can be more disciplined in reading, so that the market does not become chaotic due to information uncertainty. He stated that one of the characteristics of a developed and modern country is the openness of information to obtain meaningful public participation. Copyright © ANTARA 2026 It is strictly prohibited to take content, crawl or automatically index for AI on this website without written permission from the ANTARA News Agency.