Sri Mulyani Says RI Will Increase Oil Imports To LNG From The US

Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani Indrawati said that the Indonesian government is working to increase imports of a number of strategic commodities from the United States, including oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), as well as agricultural products such as wheat, soybeans, and corn.

Sri Mulyani emphasized that trade and non-trade barriers are currently the focus of the Indonesian Government. Continuously, Indonesia evaluates various trade barriers, both tariffs and non-tariffs, in order to create a more open and efficient trade climate.

"On the tariff side, most of Indonesia's tariffs are actually very low, but we will always evaluate and see if there are areas that we can increase on the tariff side," he said in his statement, quoted Monday, April 28.

Regarding non-tariff barriers, Sri Mulyani admitted that Indonesia still has a number of mechanisms that are often of concern because they are considered to prevent trade.

"Either in the form of an administrative process, for example in the customs process when importing goods, or in terms of assessment, tax procedures, or quarantine for agricultural products," he said.

Furthermore, Sri Mulyani highlighted the importance of agricultural products from the United States which have a major contribution to Indonesia's food security.

According to him, products such as wheat, soybeans, and corn are agricultural products that are also consumed in Indonesia significantly.

"We import not only from the United States but also from many other countries. So in that context, we can always discuss how we can narrow the gap and put the United States in a better position to provide this type of agricultural product," he said.

In the energy sector, Sri Mulyani emphasized that although Indonesia is an oil and gas producing country, its production capacity is still not sufficient for domestic needs.

He conveyed that the Indonesian government sees opportunities to increase energy imports, especially LNG, from the United States.

"So these are all areas where we can certainly outsource oil and gas from the United States, including Boeing products and so on. There are also several commodities and manufacturing products where we can narrow, reduce, or even eliminate this surplus," he explained.