Indonesia will buy billions of U.S. dollars worth of American oil and oil products if the U.S. tariffs on Indonesian goods are lowered, Indonesia’s Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said on Monday.
Indonesia could scrap plans to import energy commodities from the United States if the Trump Administration refuses to lower tariffs on Indonesian goods, Indonesian media reported.
“If there’s no agreement, then there’s no deal. We’ll wait for the official decision from the chief economic minister,” Jakarta Globe quoted the minister as saying on Monday.
Indonesia was slapped with one of the highest tariffs – 32% – in the “liberation day” tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump in early April. These tariffs were suspended for 90 days, during which the Trump Administration expected most countries to come pleading their cases and promising to boost their imports of U.S. goods to avoid high tariffs.
Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, has signaled it would offer to buy an additional $10 billion worth of American oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
Indonesia also plans to slash its fuel imports from Singapore and source more refined products from the United States as the country looks to negotiate lower tariffs with the U.S.
Also in May, Argus reported that state energy firm Pertamina is considering importing oil products from the United States.
Last week, the Trump Administration said the tariffs on Indonesia would go as planned at 32% beginning on August 1.
But this weekend, Indonesia said that the United States agreed to delay the implementation of the 32% tariff on Indonesian goods, amid ongoing trade talks.
“The additional 10 percent (due to BRICS membership) will not be applied. Secondly, the implementation of the 32 percent tariff is postponed. This is a pause to finalize the ongoing negotiation,” Airlangga Hartarto, Coordinating Minister for the Economy, was quoted as saying.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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