Government Responds to New US Import Tariffs

The United States government has imposed a new additional import tariff of 10 per cent on 60 trading partner countries, including Indonesia, effective 24 July 2026, amid ongoing trade investigations conducted by the country. The Indonesian government is continuing to lobby for Indonesia to secure a competitive tariff rate.

Spokesperson for the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Haryo Limanseto, stated that the United States Trade Representative (USTR) had set the new tariff based on the results of a Section 301 investigation. “Indonesia is among the countries subject to an additional tariff of 10 per cent under Section 301, together with 16 countries or territories, such as Malaysia, India, Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, and others,” he said in an official statement quoted on Sunday, 26 July 2026.

Previously, the USTR conducted Section 301 investigations into 60 countries or 16 economic regions under the Trade Act of 1974. For Indonesia, the investigation covered two issues: excess production capacity in the manufacturing sector and the prohibition of imports of goods produced through forced labour.

Regarding allegations of forced labour practices, Haryo said the government has taken note of the USTR’s acknowledgement that Indonesia is one of the countries actively committed to, and possessing a regulatory framework for, preventing and eradicating forced labour in global supply chains.

In addition, based on information from the US side, the results of the investigation into the excess capacity issue will be issued in the near future. “We are still awaiting the results and the official announcement of that investigation and certainly hope that the tariffs applied will be favourable for Indonesia,” Haryo said.

Furthermore, the government also hopes that products already exempted through the signing of the agreement between Indonesia and the United States, as set out in the Agreement of Reciprocal Trade (ART), will be accommodated. “The government is actively continuing consultations with the USTR to obtain the best and most competitive tariffs.”

Section 301 is a provision that authorises the Office of the United States Trade Representative to investigate and impose sanctions on foreign governments deemed to be engaging in unfair trade practices against the United States. This step was taken after the US Supreme Court struck down the legal basis for the reciprocal tariff policy previously implemented.

The USTR announced the investigation on 11 March 2026. The countries subject to the investigation include China, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Mexico, Japan, India and the European Union.

Following the investigation process, the US government announced it would impose new tariffs of 10 per cent or 12.5 per cent on imported goods from 60 major trading partners. The policy was adopted because these countries were considered not sufficiently firm in prohibiting imports of goods produced using forced labour.

The announcement was made one day before the 10 per cent global tariff imposed by President Donald Trump in February expired. “President Trump recognises that decades of moral persuasion have failed to eliminate forced labour practices from global supply chains,” said US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, as quoted by Antara.