JAKARTA - President Prabowo Subianto will expand trade partners in response to the US government's policy of imposing reciprocal tariffs on imported products.

The move is one of President Prabowo Subianto's three policies to ensure the sustainability of the domestic economy due to the US policy.

Noudhy Valdryno, Deputy for Information Dissemination and Media at the Presidential Communication Office (PCO), said that the measure anticipates the global turmoil caused by the US tariff policy.

‘President Prabowo's three measures include expanding trade partners, accelerating the downstreaming of natural resources, and strengthening the resilience of domestic consumption,’ he said, quoted by Antaranews.com, Friday (4/4).

According to Mr Noudhy, President Prabowo Subianto wants to prove that the Indonesian economy can continue to grow amid global uncertainty. The three policies, said Mr Noudhy, will be strengthened with a mature geopolitical strategy so as to be able to get through the economic turmoil.

Indonesia is facing a 32% reciprocal tariff from the US government, which was officially announced by President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday (2/4) local time. There are more than 12 major US trading partners that are subject to the tariff policy. The top three on the tariff list include China, the European Union, and Vietnam.

Currently, Indonesia has joined BRICS, a geopolitical bloc of multilateral cooperation that is a competitor to the G7 Bloc. It comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US. (LK/LM)