Despite global uncertainty about what is expected to be a more protectionist trade policy under United States President Donald Trump, business players believe Indonesia will find a blessing in disguise, including in trade.

Trump recently decided to withdraw the US from the long-planned Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact, which would have covered 12 countries accounting for about 40 percent of the global gross domestic product.

“We should analyze this clearly, because it’s possible that the failure of TPP can pave the way for Indonesia to be more competitive vis-à-vis its neighbors, such as Vietnam and Malaysia, in exporting products to the US,” Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) chairman Rosan P. Roeslani said in Jakarta on Thursday.

(Read also: Trump withdrawal from Asia trade deal could boost China’s clout)

Vietnam and Malaysia were among the 12 countries signing the TPP pact in February last year.

Moreover, Rosan said Indonesia’s GDP growth of 5 percent last year could be considered a new equilibrium, adding that many other countries had booked lower growth.

“Looking at the slowdown in the global economy, in addition to uncertain conditions at the moment, 5 percent growth might have been really good compared to others,” he went on.

Meanwhile, in its latest report titled Global Economic Prospects, published on Tuesday, the World Bank projected that Indonesia’s GDP growth could reach 5.3 percent this year and 5.5 percent in both 2018 and 2019. (bbn)