GAPKI Pushes for Strengthened Trade Diplomacy in Global Markets
Jakarta - The Indonesian Oil Palm Growers Association (GAPKI) is pushing for strengthened trade diplomacy to address potential tariff and non-tariff barriers in global markets.
“Trade diplomacy must be increasingly robust to confront potential tariff and non-tariff barriers in global markets,” said GAPKI Chairman Eddy Martono at an event in Jakarta on Friday evening, 27 February.
He added that both bilateral and non-bilateral cooperation between countries, including among businesses, must remain emphasised.
GAPKI has already signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with associations in several importing countries that depend heavily on Indonesian palm oil.
Economic diplomacy led by President Prabowo Subianto has yielded concrete results for the national agricultural sector. Through the Indonesia-United States reciprocal trade agreement, 173 tariff lines (HS Codes) covering 53 groups of Indonesian agricultural commodities and their derivatives have officially been granted duty-free access to the American market.
This strategic step opens wider access for national agricultural products to penetrate this global market whilst strengthening the competitiveness of Indonesia’s flagship commodities amid international trade competition.
The agreement under the Agreements on Reciprocal Trade (ART) framework, signed by President Prabowo Subianto and US President Donald Trump, forms part of strengthened economic partnership between the two nations.
The Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, explained that the agreement, titled “Toward a New Golden Age for the US–Indonesia Alliance,” covers 1,819 tariff positions for Indonesian products in both the agricultural and industrial sectors, which have been granted duty-free entry to the American market.
From the agricultural sector, commodities receiving zero tariff treatment include tropical fruits such as bananas, pineapples, mangoes, durians, and papayas; coffee with six tariff lines; green and black tea; and strategic spices including pepper, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and turmeric.
Additionally, cocoa and cocoa derivatives, palm oil, palm kernel oil, and palm fruits and kernels are included in the duty-free list. Processed fruit products, cassava and sago-based flour and starch, and potassium-based mineral fertiliser also receive the same facility.