TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) chairperson Arsjad Rasjid in a written statement on Tuesday urged the United States to act more fairly in granting green subsidies for minerals used in the production of electric vehicles. He claimed that the assistance package ostracized Indonesia as one of the largest nickel providers.

“I am concerned for the ostracism from U.S. subsidy packages of Indonesia’s critical minerals used for the green technology,” he wrote on March 4.

The United States government reportedly plans to issue tax credit guidelines for battery and electric vehicle makers under the Inflation Reduction Act in the coming weeks. The law also includes US$370 billion in subsidies for clean energy technologies.

However, Arsjad said that it is feared that batteries containing components sourced from Indonesia will not meet the requirements for the total Inflation Reduction Rate (IRA) tax credit due to not yet having a free trade agreement with the United States. In addition, the Indonesian nickel industry is dominated by Chinese companies.

Arsjad emphasized that Indonesia could play an important role in meeting the United States' needs for electric vehicles and batteries. He claimed that data shows Indonesia has one-third of the world's total nickel reserves.

"Indonesia is a friend to China and western countries. We provide important minerals for China, the United States, and the European Union," said Arsjad.

RIANI SANUSI PUTRI

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