President Jokowi asked his staff to limit the number of imported goods entering Indonesia. This import restriction was carried out because it was feared that it would harm domestic producers, which could lead to layoffs. Apart from that, this import restriction was also implemented to respond to complaints from associations and the public regarding the flood of imported goods in traditional markets and e-commerce. The flood of imported goods is considered to be one of the causes of the decline in the competitiveness of domestic products, including the textile industry.

It is feared that this will have an impact on the workforce in the industry.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto said that the flood of imported goods could also have an impact on workers, such as workers in the textile and textile products (TPT) industry.

"These ex-imports will certainly disrupt the market share of domestic production, then there will also be rampant illegal imports of used clothing, and layoffs will also occur in the textile industry sector," he said, on Wednesday, October 11 2023.

Airlangga added that the policy of tightening the inflow of imported goods will focus on consumer goods commodities.

Such as certain products, including children's toys, electronics, footwear, cosmetics, textile goods, traditional medicines, health supplements, apparel, apparel accessories and bags.

"The selected commodities are children's toys, electronics, footwear, cosmetics, textile goods, traditional medicine, health supplements, ready-made clothing, ready-made clothing accessories, and also bag production," said Airlangga.

Given this real threat, the government needs to immediately take steps to protect the domestic textile industry, including by tightening imports.

This step is expected to reduce layoffs and increase the competitiveness of domestic products.