To safeguard and improve the competitiveness of the indigenous textile industry, the Indonesian government has approved a three-year extension of safeguard tariffs on imports of textiles, carpets, and other fabric coverings.

The tariffs, according to local news sources, come as the textile and textile product (TPT) industry is still facing challenges from falling export and domestic demand as well as growing competition, especially from Chinese imports.

The sources described how the decision to raise the tariffs was made in response to a worrying trend in the employment statistics for the sector. The number of workers fell from 3.98 million in 2023 to 3.87 million in 2024 as a result of the increase in textile imports, especially those from China.

Febrio Kacaribu, head of the fiscal policy agency at the Ministry of Finance, shared with the media, “The government is closely monitoring this situation and providing solutions to support the long-term recovery of the TPT industry’s fundamentals.”

This decrease fits into a larger trend of job losses in Indonesia; between January and June 2024, 32,064 layoffs were reported by the Manpower Ministry, up 21.4% from the same time the previous year.