Purchase of US Agricultural Products Deemed Detrimental to Local Farmers Indonesia could achieve more efficient import diversification. Rep: Muhammad Nursyamsi/ Red: Satria K Yudha

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – Mohammad Faisal, Executive Director of the Center of Reform on Economics (CORE) Indonesia, assesses that Indonesia's strategic position as the gateway for major U.S. agricultural products in Southeast Asia has the potential to bring negative impacts on the sustainability of domestic food farming businesses. The entry of imported corn and soybeans at prices lower than domestic prices is expected to reduce the incentive for local farmers to plant these two commodities. “While the government has already set self-sufficiency for staple agricultural commodities, including corn and soybeans,” said Faisal in CORE Insight titled “High Cost of Tariff Negotiations” in Jakarta, Monday (11/8/2025). Faisal explained that the U.S. agricultural sector is currently facing a crisis due to an uncertain global market, a consequence of the Trump era tariff war. Throughout 2024–2025, the bankruptcy of small U.S. farmers surged by up to 57 percent. In the first semester of ...