JAKARTA, Dec 12 (Reuters) – Indonesia expects to complete tariff talks with the United States by the end of the year, its chief negotiator said on Friday, with a delegation set to visit Washington next week to resume them.
Talks had appeared at risk of collapse this week after the United States accused Jakarta of backtracking on prior commitments, although Indonesia said their “dynamics” were normal and it was just a matter of “harmonising the language”.
The timeline for conclusion of talks followed a video call on Thursday between senior economic minister Airlangga Hartarto and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the tariffs.
“We agree to complete what has been agreed upon in the leaders’ declaration on July 22,” Airlangga told an economic forum, adding that a non-disclosure pact kept him from giving details.
Asked if the United States had sought inclusion of a requirement for Indonesia to inform it of future trade deals with other countries, Airlangga said, “It is an agreement that is not with Indonesia.”
It was not immediately clear if Indonesia was open to such a clause, however.
Such a provision in the U.S. deal struck with Malaysia allows the United States to end the pact and restore the tariff President Donald Trump announced in April, if new deals endanger key U.S. interests and talks fail to resolve its concerns.
Cambodia also has a similar clause in its U.S. deal agreed in October, with some difference in the wording.
A U.S. tariff deal is key to ensure Southeast Asia’s largest economy can keep up its exports, particularly in textiles, footwear and palm oil.
The United States imposed a tariff of 19% on Indonesian products, down from 32% earlier, after Jakarta agreed to scrap tariffs on more than 99% of U.S. goods and drop all non-tariff barriers to its firms.
(Reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman, Ananda Teresia, Bernadette Christina; Editing by David Stanway and Clarence Fernandez)
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