ibnchannel.id – On the sidelines of the ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani held a meeting with Japanese Finance Minister, H.E. Katsunobu Kato on Sunday (4/5) local time. At the meeting, the two discussed the challenges in facing the United States (US) tariff policy, an issue that Japan also faced in the 80s.
“Japan’s experience in facing the trade war with the US provides a very valuable perspective and is an important reference in formulating future steps,” said Finance Minister Sri Mulyani as quoted from the Instagram page @smindrawati on Monday 5 May 2025.
According to Finance Minister Sri Mulyani, Indonesia received a positive response from the US government as one of the first movers that proactively negotiated tariffs. As part of the negotiations, Indonesia has prepared a comprehensive policy package covering various issues, namely tariff barriers, non-tariff barriers, and the US trade balance deficit.
In addition, the discussion between the two also covered the impact of the escalation of tariff wars on the automotive and electronics industries which have been the pillars of global trade and dominated by the US, Japan, China and Europe.
“We agreed on the importance of strengthening trade cooperation in the ASEAN region. We also agreed that the cultural, geographical and historical proximity between ASEAN+3 countries is a strong foundation for creating stability and prosperity in the region,” he concluded as quoted from kemenkeu.go.id, Tuesday 6 May 2025.
