The Government Encourages The Form Of The RI-US Trade Agreement To Legalize Tariffs

Contract agreement (Photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Secretary of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs Susiwijono Moegiarso conveyed that the implementation of tariffs on US export products to Indonesia still requires a written trade agreement agreement so that it can be formulated in an official regulation.

Therefore, he said that the Government is encouraging the making of trade agreements between Indonesia and the US so that it can make Presidential Regulations (Perpres) and Regulations of the Minister of Finance (PMK) as the legal basis for implementation.

"For example, only this S-Legislation, we don't have this signing, legally it's difficult for us to implement it. So that's what we want to discuss too. Apart from the commodities that we asked for, we are still implementing so that the legal binding will be formally strong in us," he explained to the media crew, Thursday, August 28.

He conveyed that Indonesia was communicating intensively with the United States Trade Representative (USTR) regarding the reciprocal tariff on Indonesia's export products to the United States.

"Yes, we have sent the list. Pak Airlangga's official letter to the same USTR to (Commerce Secretary Howard) Lutnick. There are two letters," he said.

He added that currently his party together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are preparing a follow-up schedule for negotiations and have started initial discussions online with USTR.

"In the past few days, last night too, we were online. Online with USTR. We are with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs first," he said.

According to him, the negotiations were conducted online because USTR was still compiling a schedule due to the large demand from other countries. However, online communication continues to run well.

"It's just that, when they want to discuss the substance, that's what they will do, there's also a technical team that will handle this. Well, that's what we'll need to finish the schedule. Only later, in September, either the first, second week, we will start physical in-person going there," he said.

He added that the proposed products to get exemptions from tariffs include superior commodities such as coffee, cocoa, rubber, palm oil, horticultural products, other agros, as well as canned pineapple and meranti wood.

Susiwijono said the government also pushed the canned pineapple from Lampung which is one of the largest exports to the US whose export value even reached 100 million US dollars.

"So it is indeed a product that only exists with us, it takes the American people, which we encourage, to zero. (the net worth of raw materials?) No, it's cans and cans. That's the largest export in the world. (PT Great Giant Pineapple) GGPC in Lampung," he said.

He added another example is meranti wood which was specifically requested by the US because it was needed for their industry.

"The need is high. So he specifically asked for meranti wood. If that's what we ask must be 0 percent," he said.

Susiwijono said that Indonesia's target is to fight for a 0 percent tariff for all commodities listed in the proposed letter that has been sent.

"We must focus on superior products that are competitively owned or controlled by Indonesia. For example, rubber is produced by only a few countries. That way, our bargaining position will be stronger," he added.