US Lobby Government to Exempt Indonesian Palm Oil from Section 301 Tariffs

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto (Photo: VOI doc)

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto revealed that the government is still trying to get Indonesian palm oil products an exemption from the United States (US) import tariff policy imposed through the Section 301 investigation.

Airlangga explained that discussions regarding the request for an exemption were still ongoing on the US government's side so there was no final decision.

"We are asking that palm oil be excluded," he told the media, quoted by Antara, Tuesday, July 28.

When asked about the certainty of the results of the lobbying, Airlangga emphasized that the discussion process was still ongoing and the government was still waiting for a decision from the US authorities.

"We wait for this to be processed there gradually," he said.

In addition to fighting for an exemption for palm oil products, the government also proposed the application of an import tariff of 0 percent for a number of commodities based on natural resources from Indonesia.

On the other hand, Airlangga conveyed the results of the Section 301 investigation regarding the alleged practice of forced labor showed that Indonesia's position was relatively better than other countries.

"If 301 is forced labor, it has been announced that Indonesia is relatively compliant compared to other countries. Initially, Indonesia was part of 6 out of 60 countries, but from the last calculation, the number of 6 countries increased to 17," he said.

Airlangga said that countries that have not met the compliance standards will be subject to an additional tariff of 12.5 percent.

Meanwhile, he added that the investigation related to the alleged excess capacity is still ongoing and the government has provided all the explanations requested by the US authorities.

"Well, excess capacity is still being investigated and we have answered things related to excess capacity," he said.

Regarding the amount of import tariffs that are still being negotiated with the United States government, Airlangga emphasized that the final decision will entirely depend on the results of the Section 301 investigation, which is currently ongoing.