Indonesia rebuffs China’s Global South trade drive

Beijing’s strategy to boost trade relations with countries in the Global South to diversify away from closing Western markets has taken a hit with Indonesia’s announced intention to impose a 100-200% tariff on China’s labor-intensive goods.

Over the past few days, several Indonesian officials have said that the world’s fourth most populous nation is drafting regulations to impose anti-dumping duties and safeguard measures on cheap Chinese products such as textiles, footwear, electronics, ceramics and bags.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on June 27 that she will work with the Minister of Trade and the Minister of Industry to formulate regulations about imposing Anti-Dumping Duties and Safeguard Measures (ADD and SM) on Chinese products.

The measures will help Indonesia mitigate the effects of the ongoing trade war between China and the United States, Indonesian Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan said on June 28. The new China-specific tariffs will take effect once the related regulation is issued, he said.

He added that as the US has already imposed tariffs on imported ceramics and clothes, Indonesia could also do the same to ensure its small manufacturers can survive and thrive.

Indonesia’s new tariffs coincide with China’s plan to push forward its Global South strategy, which relies on emerging markets in Southeast Asia, Africa and South America to absorb Chinese goods that face trade barriers in the US amid the ongoing Sino-US trade war.

Budi Santoso, the trade ministry’s director-general of foreign trade, said Monday that local textile associations have requested the government to step in after an influx of cheap products reportedly hurt their businesses. He said the Indonesian Trade Safeguards Committee is