Jakarta. A senior diplomat recently said that outbound investments in the American oil and gas sector could be an option for Indonesia to explore, as Jakarta makes another attempt to appease US President Donald Trump’s tariff wrath.

Trump recently wrote to President Prabowo Subianto that he would proceed with imposing 32 percent tariffs on Indonesian goods starting August 1. In the poorly formatted letter, Trump said that he was open to dropping the tariffs to zero percent if Jakarta manufactures or builds its products on American soil.

Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Arif Havas Oegroseno commented Tuesday on Trump’s request for Indonesian investments in a door-step interview after a budget meeting with senior lawmakers. Havas said that Indonesia already has plans to invest all over the world and “not just the US”.

“But investment plans depend on the market, supply chain, and resource materials. … So there are many factors that we have to consider before setting up a production plant overseas,” Havas said in Jakarta.

The Jakarta Globe asked the envoy what sort of sector in the US would Indonesia be interested in. Havas responded: “Oil and gas are one good element.”

This is not the first time for Indonesia to look into the possibility of investing in American oil and gas as a tariff relief. According to the government-owned news agency Antara, Deputy Investment Minister Todotua Pasaribu had floated a similar plan back in April -- not long after Trump unveiled his tariff salvo. He proposed to have the state-run oil giant Pertamina and the sovereign fund Danantara take part in the investment. Like other state-owned companies, Pertamina is already under Danantara’s wings.

Chief economic affairs minister Airlangga Hartarto said in May that Indonesia was still exploring the possibility, meaning that it had not yet made a final decision. Just last week, Airlangga told the press that Indonesia was looking to seal a memorandum of understanding (MoU) valued at $34 billion with American business partners as a tariff relief. The MoU includes a possible $15.5 billion worth of American fuel imports. Southeast Asia’s largest economy has signaled investment plans involving its sovereign fund Danantara and state-run enterprises. Airlangga did not say which companies he was referring to. 

Airlangga, who leads the tariff talks, is traveling to Washington DC for another round of negotiations before the August 1 deadline expires. The Indonesian Embassy in Washington revealed Wednesday that Kilang Pertamina Internasional, the company's refinery and petrochemical arm, had just signed three MoUs with US businesses. They were Texas-based oil giant ExxonMobil, the trading firm KDT Global Resources, and the energy company Chevron. The embassy did not provide more details about each deal.

Indonesia’s interest in American oil sector came amidst Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” campaign. The businessman-turned-politician has been looking to ramp up his country's fuel production, even looking to export American energy "all over the world".

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