Jeep Speaks Out on the Impact of U.S. Import Tariffs

KatadataOTO – Not long ago, Donald Trump made a new policy. He set import tariffs for a number of countries.

Indonesia is one of the countries affected by this new rule from the President of the United States.

Then Trump also announced a 25 percent import tariff on automotive products, specifically for vehicles assembled outside the United States.

Of course, this will have an impact on manufacturers. Especially for US-based automotive companies, namely Jeep.

Photo : KatadataOTO

Jeep itself offers many four-wheeled vehicle products with CBU (Completely Built Up) status to consumers in the country.

Therefore, Jeep is trying to respond to the extent of the impact of the United States import tariff policy on the continuity of their business here.

“Currently, I pay the full (tax), so the import duty is full, a completely normal import from America,” said Ario Soerjo, COO of Jeep Indonesia in South Jakarta some time ago.

Ario explained that Jeep is still monitoring the extent to which Trump's new rule will affect them.

Moreover, according to him, the current situation is still very dynamic. So it is not yet known what the future holds.

“If there is a change later, and the tariff decreases, I would be happy. But if the tariff increases, it will certainly impact taxes and the price (of Jeep cars),” Ario continued.

Furthermore, he gave an example of the rupiah exchange rate against the US dollar, which has not improved, and is considered to also affect the price of Jeep cars in Indonesia.

“We are still studying and will always recalculate everything. So it's possible that in every shipment there will be a price correction or difference,” Ario emphasized.

As a reminder, representatives of the Indonesian government are currently in the United States. They are negotiating regarding the United States import tariffs.

On this occasion, the government is proposing offers such as relaxation of PPh (Income Tax) and PPN (Value Added Tax).

Photo : Stellantis

Then in the negotiations, the government wants to propose a plan to increase spending on American products.

As an effort to reduce the trade balance deficit between America and Indonesia, which was recorded at 18 billion US dollars.

So it remains to be seen what the continuation of the efforts of President Prabowo Subianto's ministers will be in lobbying Donald Trump.