Indonesia Ready to Retaliate If Trump Conducts Trade War, Kalla Says

Jakarta, MINA – Indonesia is ready to retaliate if the government of the US President Donald Trump conducts a trade war against the country, Antara News quoted Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla as saying..

“If he hinders the entry of our crude palm oil into the US, we will certainly also reduce our soybean and wheat flour imports from that country. It will be like that. We import soybean, corn, Boeing aircraft, and wheat. How many aircraft have we even bought from there?” he noted at the Institute of Police Science here on Thursday.

He remarked that foreign countries will challenge the trade war policy implemented by President Trump.

President Trump had triggered a trade war with foreign countries by imposing a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports on grounds of protecting domestic products of the United States.

“This will pose a problem if the war created by Trump spirals out of control. It is highly possible that several countries will retaliate in the agricultural sector, for instance,” he emphasized.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani has warned of the potential of a trade war if the US government really imposes tariffs on the imports of steel and aluminum.

“World history has demonstrated that the impact of a trade war on the global economy would be devastating,” she pointed out.

Mulyani noted that the world is awaiting certainty on the plan that has the potential to trigger retaliation from countries sharing trade relations with the United States through tariffs.

“Let us just wait and watch the dynamics of the situation with regard to the policy that is currently being debated by President Trump, the Congress, and Senate,” she added. (T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)