Jakarta. The European Union recently said that US President Donald Trump’s tariff salvo would deal a devastating blow to developing economies like Indonesia. As the world scrambles to respond to the tariffs, Europe is also looking to secure a free trade agreement with the Southeast Asian nation.

Trump has made international headlines by launching sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs to get rid of trade imbalances on what he called the “Liberation Day”. Trump decided to slap a 20 percent tariff on EU goods, and the European bloc has prepared some countermeasures. European Parliament’s trade chief Bernd Lange recently told reporters that it was unfair that Global South economies were also hit by Trump’s tariffs, some even at a much higher rate compared to that of the EU.

The Global South often refers to the various countries across the globe that fall into the developing countries. Indonesia identifies as being part of the Global South, and its US-bound exports are about to face a 32 percent tariff. 

“These [tariffs] will harm the people on the ground, including producers in the US, EU, and specifically the countries of the Global South,” Lange said on Eudebates TV. 

Lange added: “We [the EU] are harmed by the measures, but of course, [economies] like Indonesia are facing over 30 percent in tariffs. …  We want to stabilize the economic development of the Global South countries. This is a counterproductive action. This will  have a lot of negative consequences on Indonesia.” 

The US reciprocal tariff fiasco has also prompted the EU to bolster its network of trade deals with “reliable partners”, according to Lange. He went on to talk about the much-awaited comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) with Indonesia.

The European politician revealed that he planned on heading to Indonesia within the next two weeks to expedite the Indonesia-EU CEPA talks. The negotiations kicked off in July 2016, and progress had been quite sluggish. Lange, however, remained upbeat about wrapping up the deal’s negotiations “within this year”. At home, Indonesia intends to lobby the US before the 32-percent tariff enters into force on April 9. President Prabowo Subianto will send a high-level delegation to directly negotiate with the US government in hopes that Trump will have a change of heart.

Trump claimed that Indonesia had been charging 64 percent tariffs on imports from the US. The calculations factored in other non-tariff trade barriers such as Indonesia’s complex import licensing regimes, according to a White House fact sheet. Trump also accused the EU of imposing 39 percent tariffs on US goods that wished to enter its market.

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