JAKARTA: State-owned enterprises Minister Erick Thohir has announced that national flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia will increase its planned order of Boeing aircraft to 79 planes as part of ongoing import tariff negotiations with the United States.
“This is a new agreement. The old deal has expired and was annulled during the PKPU (suspension of debt payment obligations) process.
“The new total is 79 aircraft,” Erick said at the legislative complex in Senayan, South Jakarta, on Tuesday, as Kumparan reported.
Garuda Indonesia’s revised figure slightly exceeds the earlier plan to buy 50 to 75 aircraft, which was disclosed by Garuda president director Wamildan Tsani Pandjaitan earlier this month, as reported by Bloomberg Technoz on July 3.
Wamildan said talks with Boeing were still at an early stage but noted that “it was very likely” that the firm would purchase 737 Max and 787 Max models.
Erick emphasised that the deal formed part of a broader negotiation framework following the US imposition of a 32% tariff on Indonesian imports.
US President Donald Trump postponed the enforcement of the tariff, which his administration has characterised as a “reciprocal” measure, but he warned in a letter addressed to President Prabowo Subianto on Monday that the 32% rate would be applied to Indonesian goods shipped to the United States starting Aug 1.
Erick said Garuda Indonesia and state-owned oil and gas giant Pertamina supported the government’s trade talks with Washington.
“This is also about strengthening our energy self-sufficiency through overseas investment via (state asset fund) Danantara, and addressing our aircraft shortage,” Erick was quoted as saying by Kumparan.
He went on to explain that Indonesia had proposed up to US$34bil in US imports, mainly in crude oil and aircraft, with Pertamina expected to contribute the bulk of this.
Garuda Indonesia is set to receive 6.65 trillion rupiah in financing from Danantara, most of which will be allocated to its low-cost arm, Citilink Indonesia.
The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has confirmed that Indonesia is moving forward with plans to import oil and gas from the United States.
Deputy energy minister Yuliot Tanjung said the government was awaiting further developments from ongoing negotiations led by Coordinating Economy Minister Airlangga Hartarto, who is currently in Washington.
“The Coordinating Economy Minister (Airlangga) is still working on this.
“We’ve achieved a trade balance of around US$15bil on the energy side.
“So, we’ll have to wait and see what the final decision is,” he said during an oil and gas forum on Tuesday, as reported by Bloomberg Technoz.
“Furthermore, we’ll wait for Pak Airlangga to conclude negotiations with the United States.”
Indonesia has put a range of concessions on the table in the bilateral talks in a bid to avert the steep tariff, but experts have cautioned that striking a trade deal may be “too complex” a task.
“The government will maximise all available opportunities to safeguard national interests,” the ministry’s spokesperson Haryo Limanseto said on Tuesday. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
