Han Revanda Putra, Jakarta – Head of the Trade Policy Agency at the Indonesian Ministry of Trade, Fajarini Puntodewi, said Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election could revive the "America First" policy. The president-elect from the Republican Party is expected to prioritize domestic economic protection.
Fajarini stated that Trump's protectionist policies will manifest in a 10 to 20 percent tariff on imported goods entering the United States. It is predicted that the levy could reach 60 to 100 percent for China, the country that Trump claimed is the reason why the U.S. trade balance is always in deficit.
"Certainly, this policy will have an impact on Indonesia, both in terms of trade with America and with China. Both countries are Indonesia's main trading partners," Fajarini said during the Gambir Trade Talk at the Hotel Borobudur in Jakarta on Tuesday, November 19, 2024.
Looking back at Trump's first presidential term from 2016 to 2020, Fajarini said Indonesia's export performance remained positive. In the last two years of that period, the Indonesia-US trade balance recorded surpluses of US$27.1 billion in 2019 and US$27.2 billion in 2020.
However, Indonesia's exports surged dramatically after the end of Trump's first term. In the Joe Biden era, the Indonesia-US trade balance recorded a surplus of US$37 billion in 2021, US$39.8 billion in 2022, and US$34.5 billion in 2023. "Of course, we hope that there will not be too many changes in our export performance in Trump's second term," Fajarini said.
So far, the United States has been one of Indonesia's top export destinations. Last year, exports to the U.S. accounted for 9.57 percent of Indonesia's total exports. The US is second only to China, which has a share of 25.66 percent. The total value of Indonesia's exports to the U.S. reached US$23.2 billion. Indonesia's exports to the U.S. are higher than imports, which are at US$11.3 billion. As a result, Indonesia recorded a trade surplus of US$11.9 billion with the US.