Indonesia plans tariffs of up to 200% on China-made products to protect domestic industries

The tariff plan was first revealed by Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan last week.

The Ministry of Finance last week also said it was preparing a regulation to impose taxes known as safeguard duties and anti-dumping duties on China-made textiles, garments, footwear, electronics, ceramics and cosmetics.

Among the industries affected by the influx of Chinese-made products is the labour-heavy textile sector, which employs around 3.9 million people in Indonesia, or nearly 20 per cent of the total manufacturing labour force.

Financial struggles have also plagued Sritex, one of Indonesia’s biggest textile and garment producers. The company recorded a revenue of US$325 million last year, a 38 per cent decline from its US$524.6 million in revenue in 2022.

Between January and May this year, Sritex also laid off 3,000 workers, or 23 per cent of its total workforce, the company said.

While the company denied a recent media report that it was bankrupt, it admitted it was now running its business using “internal cash and sponsor support”.

China also ran trade surpluses last year with some 173 economies and a deficit with only 53 – mostly commodity exporters – according to Hofman’s estimates.

Indonesia posted a US$2.057 billion trade surplus with China in 2023, after deficits of US$1.8 billion and US$2.4 billion in 2022 and 2021, respectively, according to data from the statistics agency.

The planned new measures on China-made products are meant to complement existing import barriers, such as a 2023 regulation on import controls through post-border checks.

The regulation proved to be controversial, as the carry-on, tax-free personal possessions of returning Indonesian migrant workers and travellers were limited to 56 products worth no more than