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Indonesia Strengthens Export Market Diversification To Mitigate Impact Of Trump Tariffs

The government is diversifying trade relations as one of the steps to respond to global economic conditions, especially the impact of the implementation of retaliatory tariffs from the United States on a number of countries including Indonesia. 

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said that although the impact of direct trade between Indonesia and the United States is relatively small because it is less than 2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the impact of Uncle Sam's policies remains significant globally. 

"Our direct trade with the United States is less than 2% of our GDP, so it's actually not that big. Total exports in our GDP are around 20 percent, but that doesn't mean that what happens is not important. This not only affects Indonesia, but also the whole world," said Sri Mulyani in an official statement received on Sunday (4/27/2025). 

The current global conditions are encouraging many countries to re-evaluate their trade strategies and seek alternative export markets outside the United States. In this context, Indonesia is increasingly actively exploring and accelerating trade negotiations that were previously hampered. 

She said this trigger, which may be a positive side, has led to a lot of discussions about trade agreements that have stalled or have not made progress. Now, there is a sense that we really have to make progress, we really have to get to a deal because the alternative is nothing or less. 

"So that is actually probably a positive side of having more discussions like the Indonesia-EU talks that we are having," Sri Mulyani said. 

Sri Mulyani also highlighted the importance of Indonesia's economic relationship with China. Although Indonesia has a trade deficit with the country, China also invests heavily in Indonesia, especially in the strategic minerals sector. 

"China has invested heavily in Indonesia's strategic minerals sector. This is an area where Indonesia plays an important role because of our natural resource wealth. Indonesia is already producing in this sector," Sri Mulyani said. 

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Tag: China Indonesia Strengthens Export Market Sri Mulyani Indrawati Trump Tariffs