Deputy Industry Minister Reveals Not All Indonesian Textiles Exempt from US Tariffs

Jakarta — Deputy Industry Minister (Wamenperin) Faisol Riza has revealed that the zero-per-cent tariff facility for Indonesian textile products to the United States does not apply to all types of goods. The tariff relief is granted only on specific commodities, particularly cotton-based raw materials.

He explained that the 0% tariff agreement outlined in the Indonesia-US trade cooperation through the Agreement on Reciprocal Tariff (ART) scheme applies only to cotton and its derivatives.

“Yes, but only cotton-based raw materials have zero tariff. So some products still incur 19%,” Faisol said when met at the Office of the Coordinating Ministry for Food Affairs in Jakarta on Friday, 13 March 2026.

Downstream textile products such as finished garments still face potential import tariffs from the United States. The tariff rate is reported to reach 19%, although implementation details are still being negotiated by both countries.

Faisol stated that technical discussions regarding implementation of the agreement are still ongoing at the level of the negotiating team.

“This is still technically under discussion. But the general picture is that cotton-based raw materials have zero tariff. The negotiating team is still pushing for agreement, and technical discussions are ongoing,” he explained.

It should be noted that the trade agreement between Indonesia and the United States uses the Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) mechanism. Through this scheme, Indonesian textile and garment products can enter the US market with zero tariff, but only for a certain import volume.

The quota amount is determined based on the quantity of textile raw materials that Indonesia imports from the United States, such as cotton and man-made fibres.

All provisions of this cooperation have been outlined in the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) document, which has been signed by both countries.