Jakarta, Feb. 27 -- The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) is seeking to ensure that locally manufactured solar panels are exempt from US import duties that could soar into the hundreds of percent.

"We are fighting to ensure they comply with the tariffs stipulated in the ART (Agreement on Reciprocal Trade). If the tariff is 15 percent, then it should be a maximum of 15 percent. No more than 15 percent," ESDM Deputy Minister Yuliot remarked on Friday.

Yuliot said he had reviewed the solar panels facing tariffs of up to several hundred percent.

He explained that the panels subject to the steep US tariffs were not manufactured in Indonesia but had only undergone a relabeling process in the country, a practice known as transsh...