U.S. 19% tax rate on Indonesian goods could improve competitiveness

The U.S. has imposed import tariffs of 191 TP3T on Indonesian products, a move that the trade minister believes may instead boost the competitiveness of Indonesian products in the U.S. market.He believes that the tariff of 19% is relatively low, and Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines in ASEAN also apply this rate, while the tariffs of major competitors such as China, Vietnam, and India are higher than that of 19%, so Indonesia has a better space to compete; Indonesia's access to the U.S. market is more open than in the past, and the starting point for competition is better than that of other countries, especially after the implementation of the reciprocal tariffs; and it is expected that under the new tariff policy Indonesia's exports to the U.S. are expected to grow and the government will push companies to make the most of this opportunity; Indonesia's exports to the U.S. grew by 7.7% in January-June 2025 and the U.S. is Indonesia's main export destination after China, with a trade surplus of $9.9 billion. The new U.S. tariff policy, which came into effect on August 7, 2025, was introduced by President Trump through an executive order and is a reciprocal tariff policy. Among them, Singapore's tariffs are lower (101 TP3T), while Laos, Myanmar and other countries have tariffs exceeding 351 TP3T.Indonesia has finalized tariff negotiations with the U.S., with the Coordinating Minister of Economy stating that a tariff arrangement for Southeast Asian countries has been basically agreed upon, and that the tariff structure provides a level playing field for Indonesia's advantaged industries.