Airlangga Reveals Tariff 19 Percent Has Not Applicable Waiting For Joint Statement With The US

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto. (Photo: ANTARA)

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, emphasized that Indonesia had entered into a trade agreement with the United States and a 19 percent tariff would not be implemented on August 1, 2025, because it had to wait for a joint statement between Indonesia and the United States.

Airlangga emphasized that the new 19 percent tariff provision has not been applied to Indonesia, as well as several other countries such as the UK, Vietnam, and China, because it requires further adjustment and following the official announcement through the joint statement which will be released soon.

"Indonesia is a country that has dealt with the United States. So it means that several countries that have, it is no longer valid on August 1. So of course the August 1 is those who were sent letters yesterday. So for countries such as England, Vietnam, China, and Indonesia, there will be no more August 1. Now this will be determined and then wait for the joint statement and further announcement," he said at a press conference, Monday, July 21.

However, Airlangga said that he could not confirm when the joint statement would be issued between Indonesia and the United States. However, for now, the tariff imposed is the basic tariff baseline of 10 percent.

"It can be faster, it can take longer, but what remains valid is the tariff of 10 percent.

He added, although most imported products from America have entered Indonesia, this has not changed the total volume of imports from other countries.

Airlangga said that the 19 percent tariff applied was the result of an agreement in high-level negotiations between Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and United States President Donald Trump, where the figure was final and binding.

According to him, the tariff is relatively lower when compared to other ASEAN countries such as tariffs in Vietnam and the Philippines currently at 20 percent, Malaysia and Brunei at 25 percent, Cambodia at 36 percent, while Myanmar and Laos set tariffs at 40 percent, Thailand and Cambodia at 36 percent.

"Compared to competitors for textiles, textile products, we also see that Bangladesh is 35 percent, Sri Lanka is 30 percent, Pakistan is 29 percent, and India is 27 percent," he said.

He conveyed that regarding the entry rate based on the Most Favored Nation (MFN) scheme in the customs rate book, of the 11,555 tariff posts that apply in trade relations with the United States, about 12 percent have been charged a zero percent tariff.

While about 47 percent are subject to a rate of close to 5 percent, so overall, more than 60 percent of products enter America at a rate of less than 5 percent.

"Now with the agreement, our America expands to the majority to zero percent, and we have given this to another Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Whether it's with the ASEAN FTA, whether it's with the ASEAN China FTA, then also with the European CEPA, then with Canada, with Australia New Zealand, with the Japanese IGPE as well, we've given the majority close to zero," he explained.

Airlangga said that Indonesia and the United States had also resolved non-tariff barriers (non-tariff barriers) which had been trade constraints.

Regarding the import of US products, Airlangga said that Indonesia had indeed purchased energy from various countries, and in the future some of it would be focused on the United States.

He added that the same applies to agricultural products such as wheat and soybeans, which have been regularly imported from the country, so there is no significant increase in Indonesia's overall import volume.