Indonesia is dispatching a high-powered delegation to Washington D.C. next week for crucial trade talks with the United States, following its emergence as one of the economies most affected by increased US tariffs, Bloomberg reports.
The team will include veteran Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, a move signaling the seriousness with which Indonesia is approaching the situation.
According to a presidential palace statement released late Monday, Indrawati will join a delegation led by Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto and Foreign Minister Sugiono. Their mission is to articulate Indonesia’s position to US officials and seek more favorable trade terms.
Rather than retaliating against the US plan to impose a 32% tariff on Indonesian goods, the Southeast Asian nation is opting for negotiation. This includes commitments to ease non-tariff barriers, such as local content requirements. These requirements previously led to a ban on iPhone 16 sales in Indonesia last year.
In a separate statement on Monday, Hartarto indicated that Indonesia is also preparing to increase imports of US goods, including wheat, cotton, and oil and gas. He added that Jakarta is considering easing local content rules for products in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector. Hartarto has been leading a series of coordination meetings with ministers and business associations to develop a comprehensive response to the escalating trade war.
Indonesia, which maintains a long-standing trade surplus with the US, one of its largest trading partners, exports a range of goods including palm oil, electric appliances, footwear, and apparel.
Indrawati, a former World Bank managing director, is considered a steady hand in the Indonesian government and has served as finance chief under three consecutive administrations. She is credited with leading key tax and budget reforms that resulted in multiple credit rating upgrades for Indonesia by global ratings agencies during her tenure.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced on Tuesday that his country would also send officials to Washington for trade discussions. Over the weekend, he indicated that Malaysia, as the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), would lead efforts to coordinate a regional response to the US tariffs, which have disproportionately impacted several Southeast Asian economies.
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