JAKARTA, Dec 12 (Reuters) – Indonesia expects to complete tariff negotiations with the United States by the end of the year, its chief negotiator said on Friday, adding that a delegation will soon fly to Washington D.C. to continue the talks.
The statement came after a Thursday call between Airlangga and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer regarding the tariffs.
“We agree to complete what has been agreed upon in the Leaders’ Declaration on July 22,” Airlangga said at an economic forum.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the trade deal between the two countries was at risk of collapse because Jakarta was backtracking on several commitments that had been previously agreed.
But Jakarta said that talks with Washington were still ongoing and their “dynamics” were normal, adding that the harmonisation of language was required to seal the agreement.
The United States imposed a 19% tariff on Indonesian products from the previous 32% after Jakarta agreed to eliminate tariffs on more than 99% of U.S. goods and scrap all non-tariff barriers facing American firms.
(Reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman, Ananda Teresia, Bernadette Christina; Editing by David Stanway)
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