Jakarta. Indonesia is bracing itself for the possibility of a tidal wave of cheap Chinese imports following US President-Elect Donald Trump’s plans to raise tariffs on Beijing-made goods, according to a deputy minister.

Trump wants to raise the tariff on Chinese goods by an additional 10 percent once he returns to the White House next month. The potentially worsening trade war has often been dubbed as a golden opportunity for Indonesia with experts saying that Jakarta can fill the gaps left by China in the American market. Most recently, Trump threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs against the China-led BRICS grouping if they set a rival currency to the US dollar.

The tariffs are expected to make Chinese goods less attractive among American buyers, thus potentially prompting Beijing to consider rerouting the US-bound goods to other destinations, including Indonesia. Deputy Trade Minister Dyah Roro Esti Widya Putri recently said that the government would come up with strategies to protect the domestic market from soaring Chinese imports.

“We will study [the actual effects of Trump’s tariffs on China], and come up with ways to safeguard our market,” Dyah Roro said at the Conference on Indonesian Foreign Policy (CIFP) in Jakarta over the weekend.

She added: “Indonesia seeks to be friends with both China and the US. We hope we can capture the market opportunity that may rise once the tariffs are in place. But we need to make sure that a large part of the US-bound Chinese goods do not come to Indonesia.”

Prior to Trump’s election victory, Indonesian businesses -- particularly those in the textile sector -- have been struggling to compete with affordable Chinese goods, even prompting massive job cuts. The Manpower Ministry reported that 42,863 workers were laid off in Indonesia so far in 2024 as of the end of July. About 22,356 people used to work in the processing industry, which included businesses in textile production.

Government data shows Indonesia-China totaled $96.4 billion in January-September 2024. Indonesia recorded an $8.1 billion deficit when trading with China over the said period. Chinese imports at the time totaled nearly $52.3 billion.