Airlangga Denies Indonesian Plastic Comes from China: We Have Chandra Asri and Lotte

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has denied United States accusations against Indonesia regarding involvement in the Great Transhipment Scam, a practice of diverting goods through third countries to disguise their origin, including to avoid tariffs. Indonesia was named in tier two alongside Brazil, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam.

Airlangga rejected the assumption that Indonesia is an integrated manufacturer with China and that its exports to America consist mainly of plastic products and derivatives. He stressed that Indonesia’s plastic and packaging industry already has national companies.

‘For plastic raw materials, we already have our own raw materials produced by Chandra Asri and most recently by Lotte Chemicals,’ he said at a press conference at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs office in Jakarta on Thursday (20/8/2026). ‘So it is not true that this uses transhipment from other countries for processing.’

The minister also said that plastic usage is consumed domestically rather than exported to America as alleged. ‘Most plastic packaging is used domestically or exported to surrounding areas, but not to the United States,’ he said.

Regarding the report, Airlangga said that businesspeople need not worry and stressed that the study was based on assumptions. ‘What actually happens is not as they assume,’ he concluded.