In his recent remarks, President Prabowo Subianto emphasised that Indonesia will continue to fight through negotiations to address the reciprocal import tariffs set by the President of the United States, Donald Trump.
Prabowo Subianto further asserted that Indonesia will not give up or ask for mercy from other parties in this negotiation process.
“We will never give up. We will never kneel, we will never beg. We will never ask for pity from others. There is no need for pity. The Indonesian people do not need pity,” he remarked, as reported by the Presidential Secretariat YouTube channel on Thursday, the 24th of April.
Nevertheless, Subianto also noted that Indonesia would continue to respect whatever tariff provisions were previously announced by Trump.
“We now have the ability. We will move the economy with our own strength. We will not curse other countries. Whatever tariffs that may hit us, we will discuss it, we will negotiate it, we will respect it,” he continued.
Subianto, however, added, “But we believe in our own strength. Even if they [the United States] don’t open their market to us, we will survive. We will grow stronger. We will stand on our own two feet.”
Previously, Trump announced a reciprocal import tariff for Indonesia amounting to 32%. However, the implementation of the tariff was postponed for 90 days to provide an opportunity for negotiation. At present, the negotiating team led by Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Airlangga Hartarto, is still engaged in the negotiation process in Washington DC.
Last Friday (the 18th of April), Hartarto divulged that Indonesia had decided to increase purchases of energy commodities from the United States, namely Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), crude oil, and gasoline. This step is considered important to maintain national energy security while strengthening trade relations between the two countries.
“From the discussion earlier, there were several things proposed by Indonesia, some of which have been conveyed in an official letter that Indonesia will increase energy purchases from the United States, including LPG, then also, crude oil, and gasoline,” Hartarto previously said in a press conference on the Latest Developments in Indonesia-US Trade Negotiations and Diplomacy, held virtually last Friday.