US-China trade war leads to influx of Chinese textile products into Indonesia

The U.S.-China trade war has led to an influx of Chinese products into Indonesia, including garments, as some Chinese products have struggled to enter the U.S. market due to high tariffs.This has triggered concerns among local textile industry players in Indonesia, such as local pajama sellers who have expressed apprehension about the industry's prospects. The chairman of the Indonesian Fiber and Filament Manufacturers Association pointed out that the influx of Chinese garment products and the increase in tariffs on exports to the U.S. will have an impact on the upstream and downstream industries in Indonesia's domestic garment production, and it is expected that about 125,000 people will face unemployment in the filament production sector alone. The industry minister acknowledged the problem of an influx of imported garments during the U.S.-China trade war, but did not specify the source of the products. He said the transshipment problem exacerbated the phenomenon and proposed strengthening the management of certificates of origin, while saying the government would help the domestic textile industry cope with economic uncertainty. Economists believe that regardless of how the Indonesian government negotiates, Indonesia will actually become more dependent on China for trade. Because there are restrictions on the entry of U.S. products into Indonesia, while Chinese products in the relaxation of non-tariff measures more advantageous to enter the Indonesian market. The chairman of the association suggested that the Indonesian government take a series of measures, such as setting up safeguard tariffs, anti-dumping tariffs, and strictly controlling the issuance of certificates of origin for Indonesia's exports, in order to protect the domestic industry from the impact of imported products.