Possible New Tariff Exemptions
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is planning to approve 18 tariff exemption requests, or product exclusions, submitted by Indonesia under the Section 301 investigation framework. The development is viewed as a positive signal for domestic industries, as it could reduce export costs and enhance the competitiveness of Indonesian products in the US market. The announcement was delivered by Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto following his meeting with USTR Ambassador Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the 2026 OECD Ministerial Council Meeting in Paris.
According to Airlangga, Indonesia received positive recognition for its commitment to enforcing labor regulations, particularly in addressing forced labor issues and complying with US restrictions on imports linked to forced labor practices. “As a tangible form of this recognition, the USTR Office plans to approve 18 tariff exclusion requests submitted by Indonesia under the Section 301 investigation,” Airlangga said in a written statement on Friday (5 June 2026). Indonesia was assigned a 10% tariff rate under the outcome of the Section 301 investigation under the US Trade Act, alongside the five other countries, while the remaining 54 countries will be subject to a 12.5% tariff. Airlangga emphasized that the facilitation of these tariff exemptions reflects growing international confidence in Indonesia’s debottlenecking and regulatory improvement efforts. “Behind this positive achievement, both countries also openly discussed several concerns regarding procedural steps moving forward in order to maintain the momentum of strong bilateral cooperation,” he said. (Reuters)