Made-in-Vietnam fabrics have been exempted from new import tariffs of Indonesia, which have been imposed on some textile products from May 2020 until November 2022.

Aside from Vietnam, other countries and territories exempted from the safeguard measures include the Republic of Korea and Hong Kong for the imports of synthetic yarn and curtains, as well as India also for fabrics, according to the Indonesian Finance Ministry.

In 2019, the Indonesian government imposed temporary additional duties on imports of textiles and textile products up to 67.7%.

The fresh move is a safeguard measure to protect the domestic upstream industry from a recent surge in imports and encourage the use of domestic market products.

Previously, Moody’s Investors Service warned that the US-China trade tensions could lead to an influx of Chinese yarn, fabrics, and garments into Indonesia. It said, potentially disrupting the so far stable levels of demand and supply in Indonesia.

Moody’s explained that tariffs imposed by the US on Chinese textile exports are at 25% versus the 10-15% that Indonesia has implemented.