Indonesian textile and garment manufacturers have started benefiting from the US-China trade war, leading to optimism that the country may overcome global economic turbulence expected next year, according to Rosan Roeslani, chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN), who recently said he expected the trade war to continue for some time. Rosan was participating in a discussion titled ‘2020 Economic & Capital Market Outlook’ in Jakarta. Indonesian exports to the United States fell by 1.5 per cent year-on-year to $12.9 billion in the first nine months, according to Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data. Exports to China were meanwhile 1 per cent lower at $18.3 billion during the same period. “In 2020, there will be a lot of pressure. However, Indonesia will not experience a huge amount of pressure, compared with other countries,” Rosan said. He emphasised the situation is not at all bleak, according to an Indonesian media report. Indonesia exported garments worth $63 million to the United States last year, according to the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database. Rosan said the increase in exports was due to a fair-trade agreement and the implementation of a reciprocal system between both sides. He said exports only account for a third of the Indonesian economy and that the country has yet to fully integrate into the global supply chain, making its economy more resilient to global shocks. Indonesia still had to reform its labour laws, improve productivity and integrate further into the global value chain to improve the investment climate, he added.
