Jakarta ( WNAM MONITORING): Presudebyt Prabowo Subianto and four ASEAN leaders discussed strategies to deal with the reciprocal tariff policy rolled out by United States President Donald Trump.
In a statement released on Saturday, Prabowo’s media team said that the leaders discussed the matter via telephone.
“President Prabowo conducted a teleconference and exchanged views with Malaysian Prime Minister (PM) Anwar Ibrahim, King of Brunei Darussalam, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong,” according to an official broadcast from the media team.
On a separate occasion, PM Ibrahim shared details about the discussion on his personal social media account.
He shared President Prabowo, President Marcos, and PM Wong’s views regarding Trump’s tariff policy and the need to coordinate a joint response.
“Today, I held a phone conversation with leaders of several ASEAN countries, including Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, and Singapore to exchange views and coordinate a collective response to the issue of reciprocal tariffs imposed by the United States,” he wrote on his social media account.
Ibrahim informed that ASEAN economic ministers will meet next week to discuss a joint response to the tariff policy.
“The upcoming ASEAN economic ministers’ meeting next week will continue deliberations on this matter and seek the best possible solution for all member countries,” he added.
On April 2, 2025, Trump announced a reciprocal tariff policy on several countries, including Indonesia, which became effective three days after the announcement.
The policy will be implemented in stages, starting from the imposition of a general tariff of 10 percent on all countries from April 5. This will be followed by special tariffs on several countries, including Indonesia, starting on April 9.
Under the new policy, Indonesia will be subject to a reciprocal tariff of 32 percent, the Philippines 17 percent, Singapore 10 percent, Malaysia 24 percent, Cambodia 49 percent, Thailand 36 percent, and Vietnam 46 percent.
