Following the issuance of the final investigation findings in September 2025, according to information provided by the Vietnamese Mission in Geneva on 12 January 2026, Indonesia has officially promulgated a decision imposing safeguard measures on imported cotton fabric. The measures will be in effect for a period of three years, from 10 January 2026 through 9 January 2029.
With respect to the products subject to the safeguard measures, the covered merchandise is cotton fabric, classified under HS codes 5208.21.00, 5208.22.00, 5208.31.90, 5208.33.00, 5209.11.90, 5209.21.00, 5209.31.00, 5209.49.00, 5210.21.00, 5210.32.00, 5210.59.90, 5211.31.00, 5211.59.90, 5212.15.90, 5212.21.00, and 5212.23.00.
Notably, the scope of products subject to the safeguard duty has been significantly narrowed compared with the initial allegations raised by the petitioner, thereby excluding numerous HS codes that had been proposed during the early stage of the investigation.
Regarding the form and level of the measure, the Indonesian Ministry of Finance decided to apply the safeguard in the form of a specific duty, calculated in Indonesian rupiah (Rp) per meter of fabric, and divided into three phases of application.
Specifically, during the first phase, the duty ranges from Rp 3,000 per meter to Rp 3,300 per meter; during the second phase, the duty is reduced to a range of Rp 2,800 per meter to Rp 3,100 per meter; and during the third phase, the duty is further reduced, ranging from Rp 2,600 per meter to Rp 2,900 per meter.
Compared with the duty levels proposed in the investigation report issued by the Indonesian Safeguard Committee (KPPI) in September 2025, the official duties set out above have been reduced substantially—by approximately sevenfold.
This positive outcome resulted from intensive consultations between the Trade Remedies Authority of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Viet Nam and the KPPI, during which the Vietnamese side clearly raised concerns relating to the investigation period, the scope of the investigation, and its duration, thereby contributing to a more balanced and reasonable final determination.
Under WTO rules, developing countries with an import share of less than 3%, provided that the combined import share of such countries does not exceed 9% of total imports of the product subject to the measure, may be exempted from safeguard measures. However, based on the data published by Indonesia, Viet Nam is not eligible for such exemption, as its import share reached 5.04%, ranking second after China, which accounted for 82.40%.
To protect their legitimate interests, manufacturers and exporters should familiarize themselves with the procedure and actively contact Viet Nam Antidumping Law Firm specializing in anti-dumping and trade remedy for timely assistance.
Source: ASL
Share:
<p>Time: November 2025<br /> By: WTO and International Trade Group, Legal Department – VCCI</p>
