Attends G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting, Indonesian Trade Minister Calls for Food Security to Remain Free from Geopolitical Pressure

JACKTVNEWS.co.id  – MILWAUKEE, October 1, 2026 — Indonesian Trade Minister Budi Santoso called for collective action to strengthen food security and ensure sustainable access to food for communities worldwide, emphasizing that food must remain a foundation of human dignity and should never be used as an instrument of geopolitical pressure.

The statement was delivered during Session I of the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting (G20 TMM) held on Wednesday, September 30, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. The session focused on the theme “Weaponization of Food through Coercive Trade Actions.”

Minister Budi Santoso was accompanied by Director General of International Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, Johni Martha.

“Food commodities must be a foundation of human dignity. Food must not be used as an instrument of coercion. Our task is clear: to overcome differences, strengthen pragmatic cooperation, and ensure that food remains a bridge between nations,” Minister Budi Santoso said during his intervention.

Indonesia also reaffirmed its support for an open, predictable and rules-based multilateral trading system as one of the foundations that must be maintained.

In this regard, Indonesia encouraged progress in agricultural negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO), particularly in finding permanent solutions for Public Stockholding programs for food security purposes and the Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) for developing countries.

According to Minister Budi Santoso, public stockholding, when implemented proportionately and transparently, can help bridge periods of food surplus and shortages, maintain food access for vulnerable communities, and provide reliable markets for small-scale farmers.

Meanwhile, the Special Safeguard Mechanism is needed as a protective instrument for developing countries to respond to sudden import surges or significant price declines.

Minister Budi Santoso explained that food security rests on two key elements: predictable access to food and resilient national food systems. Both elements, he said, need to operate in accordance with the principles and objectives of the global trading system.

At the same time, every country has a legitimate right to safeguard its food security and implement public policies in the interests of its people.

“Every country has a legitimate right to safeguard food security and implement public policies that benefit its people. That right must be exercised responsibly,” Minister Budi Santoso stated.

He further emphasized that building resilient national food systems is not merely a matter of prosperity, but also an important component of economic strategy.

Resilient food systems can contribute to improving trade balances, productivity, public health, inflation management and economic growth.

“Investment in resilient food systems should not be viewed merely as social assistance, but as part of risk management,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, United States Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Jamieson Greer said in his remarks that trade in food, agricultural products and agricultural inputs should not be used as instruments of economic or political pressure.

Such practices, he said, could distort competition and undermine confidence in the global trading system.

According to Greer, all G20 members have an opportunity to work together in responding to the use of food trade as an instrument of pressure and in reducing its negative impacts.

Adolf Hutabarat
JACKTV.NEWS