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eNCA
3 days ago
- Business
- eNCA
Indonesian shoemakers fear Trump tariffs despite lower levy
At a leather boot shop in the Indonesian city of Bandung, workers handle an order from Texas but owner Etnawati Melani says she fears such business will dwindle when Donald Trump's tariffs hit exports. The United States is Indonesia's biggest market for footwear exports and the American president announced Tuesday he would impose a 19 percent tariff on Southeast Asia's biggest economy. The measure was lower than the initial extra 32 percent Trump threatened in April, and better than the 20 percent he imposed on Vietnam. But Etnawati, who had plans to expand her business to the United States, said her focus would now shift to other markets. AFP | Timur MATAHARI "I have to develop a new strategy. Perhaps we have to diversify our markets, products, and so on. If it's possible to enter (the US market), but... not in large quantities at first, that's it," she told AFP. "We can't rely solely on the US. There's still many markets in the world. We can still shift. "I plan to shift focus to Japan and Russian partners." In return for a lower tariff, Indonesia pledged billions to increase energy, agriculture and merchandise imports from the United States and Trump said Jakarta had pledged to buy 50 Boeing jets. It remains unclear when the new tariff rate Trump announced will come into effect and reaction from Indonesian officials has been muted while President Prabowo Subianto travels home from a Europe visit. AFP | Timur MATAHARI But chief negotiator Airlangga Hartarto, after meeting top US officials in Washington, said last week that the talks had been "positive". Prabowo suggested after the initial tariff threat in April that Trump was maybe helping Jakarta by causing it to re-think its trade surplus with the world's top economy. Data from the US Trade Representative office shows Washington's goods trade deficit with Indonesia was $17.9 billion in 2024, up 5.4 percent from the year before. - 'I'm worried' - Indonesia is the third-largest footwear exporter to the US behind China and Vietnam, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity. So any new tariff was likely to damage business -- particularly in Bandung, where its shoe scene is well-known internationally for beautifully hand-crafted quality leather boots. AFP | Timur MATAHARI Economists in Indonesia hit out at the deal with Washington, which Trump says would get tariff-free access in return. "This is not an agreement. It's... a one-sided agreement," Jakarta-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) executive director Yose Rizal Damuri told AFP on Wednesday. But he predicted American consumers would likely bear the costs more than Indonesian businesses, with Trump's tariffs sweeping across many countries. "The United States itself will be the one more affected. Prices will rise," he said. Data on Tuesday showed US inflation spiked in June as the tolls kicked on. The shop's more seasoned workers such as Jajang -- who goes by one name -- have already experienced the ups and downs of business, with the Covid-19 pandemic hitting sales, and seeing dozens of colleagues laid off and several dying. "I don't know about that issue, the important thing is that I work here," said the 53-year-old when asked about Trump's levies. Others aware of the Trump threat to Indonesian exports were more concerned. One of Etnawati's workers, Lili Suja'i, chipped away at a new set of boots for the three-pair Texan order -- riding boots, medium casual boots and loafers -- in a workshop adjacent to the store. He said he feared US customers would be put off by higher costs, with the shop his main income for his family of three. But the shoemakers are ready to fulfil any orders from Americans willing to pay the extra price. "I'm worried, yes, but before placing an order, we negotiate the shipping costs and prices with the customer," the 38-year-old said. "So, we've already made a deal. If they're OK with it, we'll do it." By Yuli Krisna
Business Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
Indonesian shoemakers fear Trump tariffs despite lower levy
[BANDUNG] At a leather boot shop in the Indonesian city of Bandung, workers handle an order from Texas but owner Etnawati Melani says she fears such business will dwindle when Donald Trump's tariffs hit exports. The United States is Indonesia's biggest market for footwear exports and the American president announced on Tuesday (Jul 15) he would impose 19 per cent tolls on top of a baseline 10 per cent for South-east Asia's biggest economy. The measure was lower than the initial extra 32 per cent Trump threatened in April, and better than the 20 per cent he imposed on Vietnam. But Etnawati, who had plans to expand her business to the United States, said her focus would now shift to other markets. 'I have to develop a new strategy. Perhaps we have to diversify our markets, products, and so on. If it's possible to enter (the US market), but... not in large quantities at first, that's it,' she told AFP. 'We can't rely solely on the US. There's still many markets in the world. We can still shift. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 2 pm Lifestyle Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself. Sign Up Sign Up 'I plan to shift focus to Japan and Russian partners.' In return for a lower tariff, Indonesia pledged billions to increase energy, agriculture and merchandise imports from the US and Trump said Jakarta had pledged to buy 50 Boeing jets. It remains unclear when the new tariff rate Trump announced will come into effect and reaction from Indonesian officials has been muted while President Prabowo Subianto travels home from a Europe visit. But chief negotiator Airlangga Hartarto, after meeting top US officials in Washington, said last week that the talks had been 'positive'. Prabowo suggested after the initial tariff threat in April that Trump was maybe helping Jakarta by causing it to re-think its trade surplus with the world's top economy. Data from the US Trade Representative office shows Washington's goods trade deficit with Indonesia was US$17.9 billion in 2024, up 5.4 per cent from the year before. Indonesia is the third-largest footwear exporter to the US behind China and Vietnam, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity. So any new tariff was likely to damage business – particularly in Bandung, where its shoe scene is well-known internationally for beautifully hand-crafted quality leather boots. Economists in Indonesia hit out at the deal with Washington, which Trump says would get tariff-free access in return. 'This is not an agreement. It's... a one-sided agreement,' Jakarta-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) executive director Yose Rizal Damuri told AFP on Wednesday. But he predicted American consumers would likely bear the costs more than Indonesian businesses, with Trump's tariffs sweeping across many countries. 'The United States itself will be the one more affected. Prices will rise,' he said. Data on Tuesday showed US inflation spiked in June as the tolls kicked on. The shop's more seasoned workers such as Jajang – who goes by one name – have already experienced the ups and downs of business, with the Covid-19 pandemic hitting sales, and seeing dozens of colleagues laid off and several dying. 'I don't know about that issue, the important thing is that I work here,' said the 53-year-old when asked about Trump's levies. Others aware of the Trump threat to Indonesian exports were more concerned. One of Etnawati's workers, Lili Suja'i, chipped away at a new set of boots for the three-pair Texan order – riding boots, medium casual boots and loafers – in a workshop adjacent to the store. He said he feared US customers would be put off by higher costs, with the shop his main income for his family of three. But the shoemakers are ready to fulfil any orders from Americans willing to pay the extra price. 'I'm worried, yes, but before placing an order, we negotiate the shipping costs and prices with the customer,' the 38-year-old said. 'So, we've already made a deal. If they're OK with it, we'll do it.' AFP
Bangkok Post
3 days ago
- Business
- Bangkok Post
Indonesian shoemakers fear Trump tariffs despite lower levy
BANDUNG — At a leather boot shop in the Indonesian city of Bandung, workers handle an order from Texas but owner Etnawati Melani says she fears such business will dwindle when Donald Trump's tariffs hit exports. The United States is Indonesia's biggest market for footwear exports and the American president announced Tuesday he would impose 19% tolls on top of a baseline 10% for Southeast Asia's biggest economy. The measure was lower than the initial extra 32% Trump threatened in April, and better than the 20% he imposed on Vietnam. But Etnawati, who had plans to expand her business to the United States, said her focus would now shift to other markets. "I have to develop a new strategy. Perhaps we have to diversify our markets, products, and so on. If it's possible to enter (the US market), but... not in large quantities at first, that's it," she told Agence France-Presse (AFP). "We can't rely solely on the US. There's still many markets in the world. We can still shift. "I plan to shift focus to Japan and Russian partners." In return for a lower tariff, Indonesia pledged billions to increase energy, agriculture and merchandise imports from the US and Trump said Jakarta had pledged to buy 50 Boeing jets. It remains unclear when the new tariff rate Trump announced will come into effect and reaction from Indonesian officials has been muted while President Prabowo Subianto travels home from a Europe visit. But chief negotiator Airlangga Hartarto, after meeting top US officials in Washington, said last week that the talks had been "positive". Prabowo suggested after the initial tariff threat in April that Trump was maybe helping Jakarta by causing it to re-think its trade surplus with the world's top economy. Data from the US Trade Representative office shows Washington's goods trade deficit with Indonesia was US$17.9 billion in 2024, up 5.4% from the year before. 'I'm worried' Indonesia is the third-largest footwear exporter to the US behind China and Vietnam, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity. So any new tariff was likely to damage business -- particularly in Bandung, where its shoe scene is well-known internationally for beautifully hand-crafted quality leather boots. Economists in Indonesia hit out at the deal with Washington, which Trump says would get tariff-free access in return. "This is not an agreement. It's... a one-sided agreement," Jakarta-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) executive director Yose Rizal Damuri told AFP on Wednesday. But he predicted American consumers would likely bear the costs more than Indonesian businesses, with Trump's tariffs sweeping across many countries. "The United States itself will be the one more affected. Prices will rise," he said. Data on Tuesday showed US inflation spiked in June as the tolls kicked on. The shop's more seasoned workers such as Jajang -- who goes by one name -- have already experienced the ups and downs of business, with the coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic hitting sales, and seeing dozens of colleagues laid off and several dying. "I don't know about that issue, the important thing is that I work here," said the 53-year-old when asked about Trump's levies. Others aware of the Trump threat to Indonesian exports were more concerned. One of Etnawati's workers, Lili Suja'i, chipped away at a new set of boots for the three-pair Texan order -- riding boots, medium casual boots and loafers -- in a workshop adjacent to the store. He said he feared US customers would be put off by higher costs, with the shop his main income for his family of three. But the shoemakers are ready to fulfil any orders from Americans willing to pay the extra price. "I'm worried, yes, but before placing an order, we negotiate the shipping costs and prices with the customer," the 38-year-old said.
Int'l Business Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Int'l Business Times
Indonesian Shoemakers Fear Trump Tariffs Despite Lower Levy
At a leather boot shop in the Indonesian city of Bandung, workers handle an order from Texas but owner Etnawati Melani says she fears such business will dwindle when Donald Trump's tariffs hit exports. The United States is Indonesia's biggest market for footwear exports and the American president announced Tuesday he would impose 19 percent tolls on top of a baseline 10 percent for Southeast Asia's biggest economy. The measure was lower than the initial extra 32 percent Trump threatened in April, and better than the 20 percent he imposed on Vietnam. But Etnawati, who had plans to expand her business to the United States, said her focus would now shift to other markets. "I have to develop a new strategy. Perhaps we have to diversify our markets, products, and so on. If it's possible to enter (the US market), but... not in large quantities at first, that's it," she told AFP. "We can't rely solely on the US. There's still many markets in the world. We can still shift. "I plan to shift focus to Japan and Russian partners." In return for a lower tariff, Indonesia pledged billions to increase energy, agriculture and merchandise imports from the US and Trump said Jakarta had pledged to buy 50 Boeing jets. It remains unclear when the new tariff rate Trump announced will come into effect and reaction from Indonesian officials has been muted while President Prabowo Subianto travels home from a Europe visit. But chief negotiator Airlangga Hartarto, after meeting top US officials in Washington, said last week that the talks had been "positive". Prabowo suggested after the initial tariff threat in April that Trump was maybe helping Jakarta by causing it to re-think its trade surplus with the world's top economy. Data from the US Trade Representative office shows Washington's goods trade deficit with Indonesia was $17.9 billion in 2024, up 5.4 percent from the year before. Indonesia is the third-largest footwear exporter to the US behind China and Vietnam, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity. So any new tariff was likely to damage business -- particularly in Bandung, where its shoe scene is well-known internationally for beautifully hand-crafted quality leather boots. Economists in Indonesia hit out at the deal with Washington, which Trump says would get tariff-free access in return. "This is not an agreement. It's... a one-sided agreement," Jakarta-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) executive director Yose Rizal Damuri told AFP on Wednesday. But he predicted American consumers would likely bear the costs more than Indonesian businesses, with Trump's tariffs sweeping across many countries. "The United States itself will be the one more affected. Prices will rise," he said. Data on Tuesday showed US inflation spiked in June as the tolls kicked on. The shop's more seasoned workers such as Jajang -- who goes by one name -- have already experienced the ups and downs of business, with the Covid-19 pandemic hitting sales, and seeing dozens of colleagues laid off and several dying. "I don't know about that issue, the important thing is that I work here," said the 53-year-old when asked about Trump's levies. Others aware of the Trump threat to Indonesian exports were more concerned. One of Etnawati's workers, Lili Suja'i, chipped away at a new set of boots for the three-pair Texan order -- riding boots, medium casual boots and loafers -- in a workshop adjacent to the store. He said he feared US customers would be put off by higher costs, with the shop his main income for his family of three. But the shoemakers are ready to fulfil any orders from Americans willing to pay the extra price. "I'm worried, yes, but before placing an order, we negotiate the shipping costs and prices with the customer," the 38-year-old said. "So, we've already made a deal. If they're OK with it, we'll do it." An artisan works on a pair of leather boots at the workshop of Tegep Boots in Bandung, West Java AFP The United States is Indonesia's biggest market for footwear exports and the American president announced Tuesday he would impose 19 percent tolls on top of a baseline 10 percent for Southeast Asia's biggest economy AFP An artisan works on a pair of leather boots for the US market at the workshop of Tegep Boots AFP
Asia News Network
6 days ago
- Asia News Network
The long, suspenseful journey to Indonesia's nickel ‘paradise'
July 14, 2025 RAJA AMPAT – The recent brouhaha over nickel mining operations in Southwest Papua's Raja Ampat regency, a UNESCO Global Geopark known as the 'world's last paradise', exposed the stark contrast between tourism and mining, and that the two industries should not exist in such close proximity. The stories gathered by The Jakarta Post from a trip to Raja Ampat in late June, only two weeks after the controversy broke out, paint a complex picture of parties with multiple interests who were convinced that mining and tourism could coexist, insisting that the tensions had arose over ways to make this possible. The tension is very much palpable on Gag Island, home to the mining operation run by PT Gag Nikel, the only company that was allowed to continue with its activities despite their closeness to the popular marine tourism haven. Getting to Gag Island was not easy, as it is only accessible by sea but beyond the reach of scheduled passenger boats, making chartering or 'piggybacking' the only options available for visitors. Gag Island is located far to the west of Waisai, Raja Ampat's main transit town on Waigeo Island, making the trip unnecessarily long and expensive. It takes around five hours to make a one-way trip on a small boat equipped with twin 1-liter, 50-horsepower Yamaha outboard motors. The water around Raja Ampat is calm, especially during the peak season between October and April, but boats still have to slow down at certain spots to dodge reefs or floating woody debris, sometimes massive, which can puncture the hull, if not damage the outboard's propellers. Outside the peak tourist season, the winds can be more unpredictable, the seas choppier and storms more likely. Yet the small islands and reefs in the region serve as natural barriers for potentially high waves, making the trip relatively comfortable. The biggest challenge in traveling to Gag Island is the uncertain weather. When the Post traveled to the island on June 19, a massive downpour hit as soon as we set sail, bringing visibility to just 150 to 250 meters. As visual navigation was impossible we veered off course several times, only finding our way back after the rain had stopped. We weren't sure if five hours should be enough time to reach Gag Island, since the local residents varied in their answers as to how long the journey would take from Waigeo. Barred entry Before setting out, we secured permission via text messages from Mustajir, Gag Nikel's Jakarta-based legal manager. But this turned out to be a fruitless effort, as workers at the mine denied us entry. We docked at a pier next to an entrance to the workers' quarter and adjacent to the loading bay for barges transporting nickel ores, where the company's security personnel were the first to greet us. Our arrival appeared to cause quite a commotion, with security officers squawking their walkie-talkies multiple times while others checked their phones constantly, trying to obtain confirmation for our visit. No one had the authority to speak to us, and our attempt at small talk only elicited the same response: 'The company's representatives will answer that.' In the end, three staffers from Gag Nikel's community development team agreed to spare a few minutes for an interview, but the mine was strictly off-limits. They offered no clear reasons as to why we weren't allowed in, other than saying that it would be a hassle to give us the required safety briefing and protective gear. One employee named Haris gave the most intriguing reason: Driving to the mine could invite unwanted attention from outside parties. He also recounted a mysterious incident involving an unidentified helicopter doing flybys over the island in the last few days. Gag Nikel may have kept its license, but it had to suspend its operations on June 5 to make way for what the government's so-called 'evaluation'. As a result, most of the company's divisions temporarily stopped work, especially those related to nickel production, the staffers said. Suspicion abounds We discovered our ordeal was far from over when we decided to leave the island. As we sailed away, we stopped by a barge loaded with nickel ore to snap a few photos when we were intercepted by a verbally irate resident: 'Go away already! The villagers are angry!' Curiously enough, we looked around only to see an empty beach without the presence of a single person, let alone an angry one, leading us to surmise that whoever yelled had been one of the company's workers. That incident over, we sailed back the way we came as a man on a longboat tailed us, but diverting slightly further south to see if we could get pictorial evidence of the island's mining operations. Our unknown companion soon caught up with us, however, and we immediately made our way out of the bay. The mine is located inland, so nothing but an old pier and the road leading to the mine can be seen from the sea to the island's southeast. Very little is visible of the environmental impacts from the mine's activities, except for a few deforested patches of land. The man continued to tail us on his longboat but before he could close the distance in any significant way, we pretended to sail eastward and the trick prompted him to head back to the bay. Sailing on southward again, we took some more pictures until we spotted an unidentified ship coming toward us: That was our cue to head back to Waigeo. It turns out we were not the only ones treated with intimidation tactics. A similar experience happened to Greenpeace Indonesia activists when they visited Kawe Island, where PT Kawei Sejahtera Mining (KSM) operates a nickel mine. This only reflects the tension brewing in the area after the government revoked the permits of some mining companies, especially the strain among those that fought for the smooth operation of their businesses in both mining and tourism. Local protectionism The local community that holds the customary land rights to Kawe Island have installed barricades to prevent outsiders from reaching the area, effectively stopping any tourism activities in their territory. Since they also have authority over Wayag Island, the community has closed off visitors to the popular tourist spot known for its majestic karst formations. These barricades are indiscriminate, and the community even denied access to a local legislative councilor when he attempted to visit Kawe. In fact, Southwest Papua Governor Elisa Kambu canceled her planned trip to the island on June 11 due to security concerns. A similar blockade was also put up by the inhabitants of Manyaifun Island, where PT Mulia Raymond Perkasa (MRP) had started exploration for mineral deposits before the government moved to suspend the activity. On June 25, the opposing sides on the island agreed a truce brokered by local police officers and took down the barricade. It seems calm has returned to parts of Raja Ampat, at least for now.
