Trade Minister Budi Anticipates Potential Floods Of Imported Products Imbas Trump Tariffs

Minister of Trade Budi Santoso. (Photo: ANTARA)

The Minister of Trade (Mendag) Budi Santoso admitted that he was preparing a strategy to anticipate flooding in imported products due to the United States' reciprocal tariff policy.

Budi emphasized the importance of strengthening the competitiveness of domestic products and empowering the community's economy.

According to him, when people's economic activities run, they will love and use domestic products more, which in turn reduces dependence on foreign products.

"What we did the first was to increase the competitiveness of domestic product competitiveness. The second was to drive people's economic activities like this. Because if this moves people actually love domestic products, use domestic products, automatically they don't use foreign products," he told the media crew, Wednesday, July 23.

Furthermore, he said, the government is also focusing on increasing exports and withdrawing investments, one of which is from China, which is interested in producing goods in Indonesia.

"Now it turns out that a lot of people want to invest, even from China, want to invest in Indonesia to be able to do or produce our export products. Because he said we have good market access to the European Union so that their potential is for export," he said.

Budi said that in facing tariffs and strengthening international trade, the first step was to go through a negotiation process and find a new market.

He added that this new market could be reached through trade agreements with a number of countries and regions, including through cooperation such as the IEU-CEPA (Indonesia'European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement).

"This means that many other countries also do the same. When he is intercepted into America, he wants to find a new market. One of them is the market, yes, Indonesia must be because we have a large market," he said.