Indonesia will send a team to the United States to lobby for preserving special tariff treatment on some Indonesian exports under a program for poor and developing countries, a government official said on Monday, Reuters reports. Indonesia may no longer be able to remain a spectator of the ever-escalating global trade war with the country now on the radar of the United States government, which under the administration of President Donald Trump is seeking to reduce its deficits with its trade partners, according to The Jakarta Post. Trump has warned that he may revoke special trade tariffs for Indonesia, especially on textiles, in a bid to reduce his country’s trade deficit.
The United States was Indonesia’s second-largest export destination last year, at 11 percent of total exports, or $17 billion. Indonesia enjoyed a surplus of $9.59 billion, the Jakarta Globe reports.