Research Associate CORE Indonesia Sahara reminded the Indonesian Government not to offer zero percent import tariffs in negotiations with the United States (US) specifically for products included in the sensitive list category.

"It's important to note that when we negotiate tariffs, there's a product called the sensitive list . Don't zero out the sensitive list ," Sahara said when contacted by ANTARA in Jakarta on Friday.

He cited products on the sensitive list as examples, including rice, alcoholic beverages, weapons, and so on. If a zero percent import tariff were applied to rice, for example, there are concerns it could threaten national food security and provide no protection for Indonesian farmers.

"So, some of the products we offer remain on Indonesia's sensitive list , but there are also products we can negotiate with," Sahara said.

Regarding the challenges of non-tariff measures (NTMs), previously US President Donald Trump considered that there was unfair treatment in NTMs.

In this case, said Sahara, Indonesia must map each commodity and map out any regulations that the US considers to be obstacles when their products enter Indonesia.

"These regulations need to be harmonized for each commodity. And this isn't easy for each commodity we import. The policies and regulations will differ, and that needs to be considered," said Sahara.

Furthermore, on various occasions, Trump has also frequently stated that the US has experienced a trade deficit in goods.

In response, Sahara asked the Indonesian government to re-examine the services trade data between Indonesia and the US, so that negotiations do not only include calculations of goods trade.

He gave examples of various US service trades that have entered Indonesia, especially in the digital context such as Adobe, Google including Cloud, to various digital entertainment and gaming services, as well as logistics services.

Therefore, he urged the Indonesian team that will conduct tariff negotiations with the US to be able to dig up data on trade in the services sector between Indonesia and the US to determine whether Indonesia has a surplus or deficit.

"I don't know what the data is like. Indonesia needs to have data on trade in services between Indonesia and the US. If you combine trade in goods and services, Indonesia might run a deficit. But I don't have the data, and I've tried to find it," Sahara said.

As previously reported, the Indonesian government has prepared a number of negotiation packages that will be brought to the negotiations to face the US's reciprocal tariff policy in Washington DC.

Some of these include revitalizing the Indonesia-US Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), deregulating NTMs through relaxing the TKDN in the US information and communication sector, balancing the goods trade balance, as well as fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to encourage imports of US products and maintain the competitiveness of Indonesian export products to the US.

The Indonesian government also invited ASEAN countries to the ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) Special Meeting on April 10, 2025, to conduct joint negotiations to address US reciprocal tariffs.

On April 2, Trump announced tariff increases for numerous countries. Indonesia was eighth on the list of countries affected by the US tariff increase, with a tariff rate of 32 percent.

On Wednesday (9/4) local time, Trump announced a 90-day delay in import tariff policies for various trading partners, except for China at 125 percent.

Countries that are scheduled to be subject to higher reciprocal tariffs will only be subject to a base tariff of 10 percent, which will be the same for steel, aluminum and cars.

However, on Thursday (10/4) local time, Trump revised the import tariff on China to 145 percent, which is the lower limit or still has the potential to increase in the future.

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