Indonesia wants a fair and equal relationship with the US, and will pursue diplomacy to address a 32% tariff rate imposed by the Trump administration, President Prabowo Subianto said on Monday, while his ministers are working to finalise its negotiation proposal.
“We will also open negotiations with America. We will say, we want a good relationship. We want a fair relationship. We want an equal relationship,” Prabowo said during a rice harvesting event in West Java.
Jakarta has said it would pursue negotiations rather than retaliate against the US tariffs, and will send a high-level delegation to the United States.
Indonesia is among six Southeast Asian countries that were slapped with high tariffs by US President Donald Trump last week. The levies are set to take effect on April 9.
Prabowo’s cabinet ministers have been working on a proposal to address the tariffs by offering to buy more US products such as cotton, wheat, oil and gas, as well as pledging to resolve non-tariff barriers and possible tax cuts on US goods.
Airlangga Hartarto, the chief economic minister who will lead Indonesia’s high-level delegation to US, met with more than a hundred business associations on Monday to gather inputs.
Following the meeting, the government came up with a plan to increase imports from the US, including buying components for an oil refinery project and reviewing the possibility to reduce a local content rule for US tech and communication firms.
