JAKARTA – Indonesia will increase imports of US food and commodities, and reduce orders from countries the South-east Asian nation currently buys the products from, chief economic minister Airlangga Hartarto told reporters in Washington.
Mr Airlangga is in Washington as part of a delegation of senior officials to meet US counterparts for talks on a 32 per cent tariff on Indonesian exports, which has been paused for 90 days.
Indonesia has proposed increasing its imports from the US by up to US$19 billion (S$25 billion), including around US$10 billion of energy imports, to eliminate its trade surplus with Washington and avoid the tariffs threatened by the administration of President Donald Trump.
“Indonesia also plans to buy agricultural products including wheat, soya beans and soya bean meal, and increase purchases of capital goods from the US,” Mr Airlangga said at the press conference broadcast on video conference platform Zoom.
Indonesia will also work on critical minerals and simplify procedures related to American horticultural products imports.
“We will also facilitate American companies that have been operating in Indonesia, related to permits and incentives,” Mr Airlangga added.
After a meeting with the US Trade Representative and Secretary of Commerce, the two countries agreed to complete negotiations within the next 60 days. REUTERS
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