Jakarta sees opportunity in US-China trade war

Trade turmoil: A shipping container being loaded in Tanjung Priok Port, Jakarta. Business officials say Indonesia’s key exports do not currently meet US needs. — Bloomberg

JAKARTA: The government says Indonesia may benefit from Washington’s newly introduced tariffs on Chinese goods, but businesses beg to differ, warning that Indonesian export goods were not ready to meet US demand.

Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto told The Jakarta Post on May 17 that Indonesia might snatch some of the US market share that otherwise would have been claimed by Chinese exporters and that Jakarta would try to maximise critical mineral exports. “Yes, for the goods affected by the US policy, we can get them into America. The opportunity is big, it’s big,” said Airlangga.