Indonesia Textile Safeguard Duties: Exporter Guide

Indonesia began imposing safeguard duties on imported cotton woven fabrics on January 10, 2026. The regulation, signed December 22, 2025, adds a new layer of cost for textile exporters shipping to Indonesia — on top of existing MFN rates and any preferential tariffs you might already be paying.

If you're exporting cotton woven fabrics to Indonesia, your landed cost just changed. Possibly by a lot. We've already fielded questions from textile clients wondering how this affects their Q1 shipments.

Key Takeaways

• Safeguard duty (Bea Masuk Tindakan Pengamanan / BMTP) effective January 10, 2026, applied for three years with declining rates
• Year 1: IDR 3,000–3,300 per metre ($0.18–0.20); Year 2: IDR 2,800–3,100; Year 3: IDR 2,600–2,900
• Exemptions granted for imports from 122 WTO developing country members including Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, and countries across Africa and Latin America
• Duty applies in addition to MFN rates and preferential tariffs under existing trade agreements

Why Did Indonesia Impose These Duties?

The Indonesian Trade Safeguard Committee (KPPI) investigated a surge in cotton woven fabric imports and concluded that rising volumes had caused serious harm to the domestic textile industry. Under WTO rules, member countries can impose temporary safeguard measures when import surges threaten or cause serious injury to domestic producers.

Indonesia framed the measure as necessary to maintain fair competition. The three-year declining tariff structure follows standard WTO safeguard principles — temporary protection that decreases over time rather than becoming permanent.

The regulation specifically targets cotton woven fabrics. Other textile categories aren't covered under this particular measure, though Indonesia has a history of using trade defense instruments across multiple product categories when it identifies import-related injury to domestic industries.

How Much Will This Cost?

The duty rates vary by tariff classification and decline each year:

Year 1 (January 2026 – January 2027): IDR 3,000–3,300 per metre

Year 2 (January 2027 – January 2028): IDR 2,800–3,100 per metre

Year 3 (January 2028 – January 2029): IDR 2,600–2,900 per metre

At current exchange rates, the first-year duty works out to roughly $0.18–0.20 per metre. That doesn't sound catastrophic for a single metre of fabric, but the math changes quickly at commercial volumes. A container shipment of 50,000 metres faces an additional $9,000–10,000 in duties — on top of whatever you were already paying. We've run the numbers for a few clients, and for high-volume shippers, this eats into margins fast.

The BMTP applies in addition to existing import duties. If you're shipping from a country without preferential tariff access, you're stacking the safeguard duty on top of MFN rates. If you have FTA coverage, the safeguard duty still applies — it's not covered by preferential trade agreements.

Which Countries Are Exempt?

The exemption applies based on origin, not shipping route. If the goods originate from an exempt country, they avoid the safeguard duty. If origin requirements aren't met or if retroactive verification is underway, the goods remain subject to BMTP regardless of what documents you present at entry.

This matters for sourcing decisions. If you're currently shipping cotton woven fabrics to Indonesia from a non-exempt country — China being the obvious example given Indonesia's import patterns — the economics of that supply chain just shifted. We've seen companies pivot sourcing to exempt countries within weeks of similar safeguard announcements in other markets. Whether that makes sense for your operation depends on your supplier relationships and volume commitments.

• ASEAN neighbors: Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines
• Various African countries
• Several Latin American countries

What Should Exporters Do?

• Verify your origin status. If you're shipping from a potentially exempt country, make sure your documentation clearly establishes origin according to Indonesian customs requirements. Ambiguous origin documentation risks having the duty applied anyway.
• Recalculate your landed costs. The safeguard duty adds a per-metre charge that didn't exist before January 10. Update your pricing models for Indonesian customers. If you've been absorbing duty costs to remain competitive, this changes your margins.
• Watch for retroactive verification. Indonesia's regulation allows for retroactive origin verification. Even if your shipment clears initially, a subsequent verification finding that origin requirements weren't actually met could result in duty assessments after the fact.
• Monitor the declining rate schedule. The duty decreases each year. For long-term contracts or recurring shipments, factor in the rate changes. Year 3 costs roughly 13% less than Year 1.
• Track expiration. The measure runs three years. Safeguard duties under WTO rules are meant to be temporary. Whether Indonesia extends, modifies, or lets the measure expire in January 2029 depends on how the domestic textile industry performs over the next three years.

FAQ

• Does this affect all textile imports to Indonesia? No. The safeguard duty specifically covers cotton woven fabrics under designated tariff classifications. Other textile products — synthetic fabrics, knitted goods, finished garments — aren't covered by this particular measure. Check your specific HTS codes against the regulation to confirm whether your products fall within scope.
• Can I claim exemption if I ship through Malaysia but the goods originated in China? No. The exemption is based on origin, not transshipment route. Goods must originate from an exempt country to qualify. Routing Chinese-origin fabric through Malaysia doesn't change the origin determination. Indonesian customs will apply the duty based on where the goods were actually produced.
• What happens if I shipped goods before January 10 but they arrive after? The effective date is January 10, 2026. Shipments arriving after that date are subject to the duty regardless of when they were shipped or when contracts were signed. If you had goods in transit when the regulation took effect, the duty applies.

Indonesia's safeguard measure follows a familiar pattern — domestic industry pressure, investigation finding injury, temporary duties with a declining structure that satisfies WTO requirements. For exporters, the practical question is whether Indonesia remains a viable market at the new cost structure, or whether the duty tips the economics toward serving other markets. Tariff tracking platforms like Descartes, SAP GTS, and Lenzo can flag these shifts automatically, but the sourcing and pricing decisions remain yours to make.