Antara News·Indonesia·Friday, August 21, 2026 at 09:00 AM

Indonesia gains US market edge as seaweed tariff drops to zero

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Shofi Ayudiana, Resinta Sulistiyandari

The exemption gives Indonesian exporters an advantage as several competitors,

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia is set to gain greater access to the US market for seaweed and agar-agar (vegetable gelatin) after the products were exempted from the additional 10-percent Section 301 tariff.

Erwin Dwiyana, Acting Director General for Strengthening the Competitiveness of Marine and Fishery Products at the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, said Indonesian seaweed and agar-agar are subject only to the most-favored-nation (MFN) tariff of 0 percent.

“Indonesian agar-agar and seaweed products are exempt from the additional Section 301 tariff, so they are only subject to the most-favored-nation (MFN) tariff,” he said in a statement on Friday.

He said the tariff exemption would create greater opportunities for Indonesian seaweed and agar-agar products to strengthen their competitiveness in the US market.

The exemption gives Indonesian exporters an advantage as several competitors, including China, South Korea, Spain, Italy, Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam, continue to face additional Section 301 tariffs ranging from 10 to 12.5 percent.

According to Dwiyana, the tariff exemption is set out in a Notice of Actions issued by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on July 23, 2026, and published in the Federal Register on July 28, 2026.

The policy represents the final decision in a US trade investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 concerning the imposition and enforcement of a ban on imports of goods produced using forced labor from 60 countries and economies.

The USTR has imposed an additional Section 301 tariff of 10 percent on Indonesian-origin goods, effective July 24, 2026.

Meanwhile, several major Asian supplying countries, including Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, and China, are subject to additional tariffs of up to 12.5 percent.

“Thus, Indonesia has a tariff advantage of 2.5 percentage points, which can strengthen the competitiveness of our fishery products in the US market,” Dwiyana emphasized.

Data from the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries showed that Indonesian seaweed exports from January to October 2025 were valued at US$264.6 million. These exports included dried seaweed worth US$144.7 million, carrageenan worth US$93.3 million, and agar-agar worth US$15.6 million.

China remained the primary market, with exports valued at US$183.6 million, or 69.4 percent of total exports.

Meanwhile, the European Union absorbed US$27.3 million (10.3 percent) of exports, ASEAN US$9.2 million (3.5 percent), and the United States US$8.6 million (3.3 percent).

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