JAKARTA: Indonesia and the United States have signed an agreement on reciprocal trade, with Washington maintaining the 19 per cent tariff it had previously agreed for goods exported by the Southeast Asian country, Indonesia said on Friday (Feb 20).
The signing of the agreement by Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer followed months of negotiations, after Washington last year agreed to lower Indonesia’s exports to the United States to 19 per cent, down from an initial rate of 32 per cent.
“This deal respects the sovereignty of both countries,” Airlangga said from Washington during an online press conference with Indonesian media, describing the deal as a “win-win” for both countries.
Indonesian coffee, chocolate, natural rubber and spices would be tariff-free, the Jakarta government said in a statement, adding it may also get exemptions for nearly 1,700 other commodities, including its top export product palm oil.
Textile products from Indonesia will be subject to a 0 per cent levy under a “Tariff-Rate Quota” mechanism that will be discussed after the signing, Airlangga said.
During the negotiations, the US had agreed to drop its requests to add non-economic provisions to the deal, including those related to nuclear reactor development and the South China Sea, Airlangga said.
The deal did not regulate trade that is categorised as transshipments from China because there is no such business conducted in Indonesia, he said.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indonesia-tariff-us-reciprocal-trade-deal-trump-prabowo-5941861
