Internal Letter From The Minister Of Trade Circulating To China, The National Textile Industry Feels Betrayed

JAKARTA - An internal letter from the Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) signed by the Minister of Trade Budi Santoso on June 13, 2025 circulated widely in the public, even to China. In the letter, the Trade Minister directed that the plan to impose Anti-Dumping Import Duty (BMAD) for filamentary yarn products from China not be continued.

The letter stated a number of inputs from the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of National Development Planning/Bappenas, and the Minister of Industry, which essentially suggested that the imposition of BMAD be studied comprehensively from upstream to downstream, not just stopped.

This condition also sparked uproar and anger among domestic textile industry players. In fact, the authority to announce decisions regarding the imposition of BMAD is actually in the hands of the Indonesian Anti-Dumping Committee (KADI) as the party that provides recommendations.

Therefore, the Chairperson of the APSYFI (Indonesian Filament Rate and Benang Producer Association) Redma Gita Wirawasta also questioned this. He said, the industry also felt betrayed by the state's own policy of giving 'red carpets' to imports.

"This letter was leaked, and now it's all noisy. The question is why this important direction has changed quietly. This concerns the fate of thousands of factories and millions of workers," said Redma in an official statement, Friday, June 20.

"It's an internal letter that has been signed, but it hasn't been announced yet. But why have it spread to China and the media," he continued.

Previously, KADI had found dumping and recommended BMAD for filament yarn products. However, the decision in the letter stated that the policy would be stopped, without a public explanation.

Referring to Article 70 of Law Number 7 of 2014 concerning Trade, the government is obliged to take anti-dumping actions if there are imported products sold below normal prices and cause losses to the domestic industry. This action was carried out through the imposition of BMAD.

According to him, this policy is not only wrong, but also endangers the future of the Indonesian textile industry. He explained that the pressure from imported products, especially from China, was beyond reasonable limits.

The price of imported products that are included is far below the local market price, not because of production efficiency, but because of state subsidies and systemic dumping practices. This is not healthy trade. This is a trade war. But what was saved was not the army (local industry), instead the opponent," he said.

Redma assesses that there is a lack of order in trade policy governance and opens up the possibility of conflicts of interest. If left alone, Indonesia, as a country with a complete textile ecosystem in the world other than China and India, the industry could become extinct.

"This is not a matter of efficiency, it is a matter of who is given permission to play. For a long time the domestic industry can die," he explained.

According to Redma, the government's approach has been too much in favor of low prices that have sacrificed the domestic industry. In fact, the textile industry has a large chain effect, with one factory able to absorb 1,000 to 3,000 workers, and the entire supply chain from upstream to downstream is also alive.

"If the road factory, the workforce, PLN get income, the state also saves because it doesn't need to give BLT (direct cash assistance), because all work. But now we only think about one side, low prices," he said.

In addition, this decision is also inversely proportional to President Prabowo Subianto's desire to build the largest petrochemical complex factory in Indonesia, because if the upstream industry dies, it will only be a dream. This is certainly a big question, where is the form of nationalism towards local industries.

"We need protection. We don't ask for pamperment, we ask for fairness. Do not let local players die because the government itself is not neutral," concluded Redma.