Jakarta, April 10 -- Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arif Havas Oegroseno, has said that the reciprocal tariffs imposed by the United States (US) must serve as impetus for ASEAN to strengthen regional economic independence.

"This is a really good momentum for ASEAN to create strategic regional independence in the field of economy," he said at the "Public Forum: Regional Response to Trump 2.0" event, which was accessed online from here on Thursday.

He noted that the United States' contribution to global trade is around 14-15.5 percent. Based on this, he underscored the potential for 80 percent of global trade activities that can be explored outside the US.

In addition, he highlighted the value of US global trade, which is around US$...