Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga (left), Minister of Trade Budi Santoso (center), and Deputy Minister of Industry Faisol Riza (right)
June 30, 2025, Jakarta, Indonesia — Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, Minister of Trade Budi Santoso, and Deputy Minister of Industry Faisol Riza announced a series of significant adjustments to import policies at a press conference.
These adjustments include nine new Ministerial Regulations of the Ministry of Trade (Permendag), covering a wide range of areas from raw materials to consumer goods. This move is not only a relaxation of existing import control policies, but also a structural adjustment by the government to promote economic development and enhance market transparency.
Overview of the new import policy regulations
The Ministry of Trade of Indonesia has issued the following nine new regulations:
Permendag No. 16/2025: Adjustment of the general policy and regulations on imports.
Permendag No. 17/2025: Import policy and regulations for textiles and textile products.
Permendag No. 18/2025: Import policy for agricultural and livestock products.
Permendag No. 19/2025: Import policy for salt and fishery products.
Permendag No. 20/2025: Import policy for chemicals, hazardous substances, and mining products.
Permendag No. 21/2025: Import policy for electronics and telecommunication goods.
Permendag No. 22/2025: Import policy for certain industrial goods.
Permendag No. 23/2025: Import policy for consumer goods.
Permendag No. 24/2025: Import policy for second-hand goods and non-hazardous, non-toxic waste.
Focus on key commodities in the import policy relaxation
One of the highlights of this policy adjustment is the revocation of Permendag 8/2024, which had imposed strict restrictions and technical approvals on the import of textiles, garments, and related products. In contrast, the government has announced a relaxation of import controls (i.e., “relaksasi”) for the following 10 categories of goods.
Specifically, they include:
Forest products (HS 441)
Subsidized fertilizers (HS 7)
Certain fuels (HS 9)
Plastic raw materials (HS 1)
Saccharin, sweeteners, alcohol flavorings, etc. (HS 6)
Certain chemicals (HS 2)
Pearls (HS 4)
Food trays (HS 2)
Sports shoes (HS 6)
Two-wheeled and three-wheeled bicycles
These goods will be exempt from the requirement for an Import License (Persetujuan Impor, PI), but still need to be declared and comply with technical requirements. This reflects the strengthening of Indonesia’s domestic production capacity and the market competitiveness of these categories.
Continuous supervision and policy adjustment
However, although import controls on some goods have been relaxed, the government still maintains strict supervision over certain sensitive goods. The following five types of products are still included in the Import Control List (Lartas):
Yarn and fabric (such as: benang, kain)
Ready-made clothing and accessories (such as: pakaian jadi & aksesori)
Textiles and products with batik patterns (such as: batik motif)
Home textile products such as curtains and carpets (such as: tirai, karpet)
Other finished fabric products
The import of these products still needs to meet three conditions:
Import License (Persetujuan Impor, PI)
Technical opinion (issued by the Ministry of Industry)
Third-party inspection report (provided by the inspection agency)
In addition, the government implements border control for these products, and importers must complete the relevant customs clearance procedures.
Background and purpose of relaxing import controls
The government hopes that through this policy structural adjustment, not only to enhance import transparency and fairness, but more importantly, to protect the domestic industry, especially the textile industry, which is more affected by external competition.
At the same time, the government also emphasized that for some important goods, due to insufficient domestic supply or policy support needs, the relaxation of the import of these goods is a temporary measure, aimed at filling market gaps and supporting domestic development.
Source: ANTARA
