JAKARTA Economic observer from Andalas University, Syafruddin Karimi, believes that Indonesia has shown good faith through the long negotiation process to obtain an import duty rate of 19 percent which is one of the lowest in the Southeast Asia region.
"This achievement can be seen as progressive in the regional trade landscape," he said in his statement, Wednesday, July 30.
However, he conveyed that with the emergence of the plan to apply the basic tariff of 15'20 percent to non-mitrillary countries, Indonesia's position became contradictory.
He added that it does not make sense for countries that have entered into official agreements and show that high commitments are actually treated equally, or even worse, than countries that have not reached an agreement.
"If Trump's words are applied without discrimination against the status of trading partners, then the credibility of the entire trading agreement system will collapse," he said.
According to him, the trade agreement should guarantee certainty, mutual benefit, and provide strategic advantages for the countries involved.
If Indonesia continues to be subject to a high tariff even though it has provided a number of concessions, then other countries have the potential to lose incentives to negotiate and prefer not to be bound by any agreement.
He considered that this condition not only reflected a setback in trade diplomacy, but also had the potential to create negative precedents in international economic relations.
Therefore, Syafruddin said that the government must immediately renegotiate and affirm that Indonesia's position in the framework of the official agreement is very urgent.
He conveyed that Indonesia must show firmness that economic partnerships cannot be built based on unilateral announcements, but must be based on the principle of justice and mutual benefit.
"Only in that way can Indonesia maintain the integrity of economic diplomacy and guarantee the protection of the national industry in the long term," he added.
Syafruddin said that currently, the world is witnessing the resurgence of Trump's doctrine which prioritizes an intimidating, coercive, and discriminatory approach.
"There are no common rules that form the basis of commitment between nations. America's national interests are the axis of all unilateral decisions, including in trade," he said.
He conveyed that in a situation like this, every country, especially developing countries, must be vigilant and calculate carefully.
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Selain itu, Syafruddin menyampaikan bahwa memberikan konsesi tanpa jaminan timbal balik hanya akan melemahkan kemandirian ekonomi nasional.
"Tidak cukup hanya mengejar penurunan tarif apabila dampaknya belum jelas terhadap pertumbuhan sektor strategis dalam negeri," ucapnya.
Dia menegaskan, pemerintah harus memastikan bahwa setiap langkah diplomatik dan perjanjian perdagangan yang diambil benar-benar menghasilkan manfaat konkret bagi pembangunan ekonomi nasional yang berdaulat dan tangguh menghadapi dinamika global.
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In addition, Syafruddin said that providing concessions without mutual guarantees would only weaken national economic independence.
"It is not enough just to pursue a reduction in tariffs if the impact is not clear on the growth of the domestic strategic sector," he said.
He stressed that the government must ensure that every diplomatic step and trade agreement taken really results in concrete benefits for sovereign and resilient national economic development facing global dynamics.
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