Indonesia Demands Export Tariff Justice In The Labor Intensive Sector

The Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, emphasized the importance of fair and equal tariff treatment of Indonesia's superior export products, especially from sectors that absorb a lot of labor such as the garment, footwear, furniture and fisheries industry.

This was conveyed in a bilateral negotiation between the Government of Indonesia and the United States (US), which is currently underway.

"In bilateral relations between Indonesia and America, our main concern is in sectors that create large jobs, such as garment, footwear, furniture and fisheries," Airlangga said at an online press conference, Friday, April 18.

Airlangga also highlighted the imbalance in tariff implementation, especially in the electronic sector. According to him, although products such as cell phones and semiconductors are free of import duties, other consumer electronic products such as household appliances are still subject to high tariffs.

"We ask that consumer electronic products such as home applications also get the same treatment. Cell phones and semiconductors are already free of import duties, but not all consumer electronic goods," he explained.

Furthermore, Airlangga emphasized that Indonesia encourages the harmonization of tariffs within the framework of economic cooperation that is being explored with the US. This effort aims to create a fairer and more balanced trading system for both countries.

"Indonesia encourages the economic partnership framework that is being discussed to produce tariff harmonization, both those applied by the US to Indonesia and vice versa," said Airlangga.