Bakom: Indonesia's Import Commitments from the US Do Not Conflict with Domestic Products
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Senior Expert at the Indonesian Government Communication Agency (Bakom RI), Fithra Faisal Hastiadi, stated that Indonesia’s commitment to import several products from the United States generally does not directly conflict with domestic products.
“In general, the products purchased from the US are actually products that do not directly compete with products in the country. That’s generally the case, although there are some overlaps,” said Fithra in Jakarta on Wednesday.
However, he affirmed that the government continues to monitor and coordinate across ministries to ensure that there is no disruption to local economic interests.
He cited imported commodities such as corn and rice, which will continue to be coordinated with the Ministry of Agriculture.
If deemed potentially disruptive to production or domestic economic interests, the government has room to renegotiate.
“If it is considered to disrupt local economic interests, then we can renegotiate. There is always an escape clause, as long as it does not violate national interests,” he said.
Fithra added that, based on his understanding so far, the purchase commitments from the US will not have a significant impact on national production.
For commodities such as rice, the volume purchased is said to be very limited, especially since the US is not a major rice producer.
With these conditions, he believes that in general, the import commitments do not disrupt domestic production capacity.
“Our commitment to buying these goods is not to significantly disrupt our production. For example, rice is very limited. Because they are not rice producers either. Not much. So it doesn’t disrupt national capacity in general,” he concluded.
Previously, the Minister of Trade, Budi Santoso, affirmed that the import of agricultural products from the United States, which receive a 0 percent tariff, will not disrupt the sustainability of the domestic industry.
Budi said that agricultural commodities such as soybeans, wheat, and cotton are products needed by the industry and are not produced domestically.
The Minister of Trade explained that by applying a 0 percent tariff, the national industry will receive import facilities and can reduce production costs.
According to him, if raw materials are obtained at low prices, then the price of the final product can also be more affordable for the public.
In the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) or reciprocal tariff agreement between Indonesia and the United States, Indonesia provides a 0 percent tariff facility for several agricultural commodities such as soybeans and wheat from the US.
The Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, said that this policy aims to maintain people’s purchasing power. Derivative products of soybeans and wheat, such as tofu, tempeh, and instant noodles, will not be subject to additional costs.
The main impact of this agreement is the stability of prices for staple foods based on imports. Indonesia does not produce enough soybeans to meet the needs of the national food industry.