JAKARTA: Indonesia is prioritising its national interests in its ongoing negotiations over United States tariffs, its senior economic minister and top negotiator said on Friday (Apr 25), as it wants a “fair and square” trade relationship with the United States.
Airlangga Hartarto, the head of delegation, and finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati have been in the US since last week negotiating the proposed 32 per cent tariffs the US wants to impose on Indonesia. These tariffs have been put on hold for 90 days.
“In the negotiation process, Indonesia prioritises national interests while encouraging the strengthening of bilateral relations with US,” he said at an online press conference.
Last year, Indonesia reported a US$14.3 billion trade surplus with the U.S.
The minister refrained from sharing specific details about the negotiations but said that the discussions included energy supply, US market access for Indonesian goods, deregulation in Indonesia, and critical mineral and technology sharing for agriculture, healthcare and renewable sectors.
The two countries also discussed Indonesia’s national payment system and QR code standards, which the US has stated is a barrier for its payments companies. Airlangga indicated that Indonesia is open to foreign operators such as US firms Visa and Mastercard. A two-week timeline has been set for discussing technical details.
Indonesia has proposed increasing its imports from the US by up to US$19 billion by switching to US suppliers for goods such as wheat, soybean, liquefied petroleum gas and crude. Jakarta has also offered to reduce non-tariff barriers and proposed some tax cuts for US goods.
Such a proposal would not be a “zero sum game” for other trade partners, Airlangga said, promising Indonesia would look to buy other products from countries affected.
Indonesia hopes its swift decision to negotiate, instead of retaliate, will be rewarded by President Donald Trump. Its delegation has been told that while Trump remained the final decision maker, he could favour “first movers”, Sri Mulyani said.
Sri Mulyani said she “compared notes” with other countries hit by hefty US tariffs about their negotiations, while on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings this week.
She added that Washington has asked members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) about their response as a bloc to US trade policy.
The Indonesian delegation has met with top US officials and business people in sectors such as semiconductors, as well as executives from companies like Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Boeing.
On Thursday, Sri Mulyani warned that US tariffs and their impact on global economic growth could hurt Indonesia’s economic expansion. However, she expects a steady 5 per cent growth this year, only slightly below the government’s 5.2 per cent target.
