REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – An economic expert of Indonesian University Rizal E. Salim argued it was inappropriate that US President Donald Trump said Indonesia as a cheating country in US trading. He should give explanation on what kind of cheating had been conducted by Indonesia.
He said a country’s trade balance deficit was decided by many things, among others the product competitiveness, bilateral agreement, comparative advantage and others. “Trump did not explain what kind of cheating he referred to,” said Rizal when contacted by Republika.co.id on Wednesday (April 5).
Rizal explained that cheating in international trading had been ruled by World Trade Organization (WTO). There had been a mechanism and procedures of sanction when it occurred.
However, Indonesia needed to evaluate all the trading scheme and cooperation with US to ensure whether the accusation was valid. He said Trump’s accusation was inappropriate to be announced before any official study. "But we know Trump often says controversial statements,” he said.
Also read: Bank Indonesia denies Trump's accusation
Rizal said Indonesian government did not need to worry while having an internal evaluation. The government could also make official statement to ask clarification of Trump’s statement. National elites could informally ask Trump’s clarification.
US President Donald Trump said Indonesia and some South East Asian countries often been cheating in doing bilateral trading. Investvine.com reported Trump asked US Trading Ministry to investigate 16 countries which considered cheating.
Trump pointed to sixteen countries to cheat in trading, among others China, Japan, Germany, Mexico, Ireland, Italy, South Korea, India, France, Swiss, Taiwan, Canada, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
He issued two executive orders targeted on cheating foreign importers. He said it as a historical moment to return the national trade deficit. He had never given any details of the accusation.
“They are cheaters! From now on, those who break the rules will face the consequences and they’ll be very severe consequences,” said Trump to Investvine.com.
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