Short-term populist economic policies are increasingly dominating the world. One is protectionism. In his first days in office, US President Donald Trump immediately pulled his country out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Trump also invited Mexico and Canada to meet and reassess the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

As we enter 2017, the government has been busy seeking ways to stabilize the rupiah. With the Federal Reserve raising US dollar interest rates late last year, other world currencies, including the rupiah, have weakened. Our currency, which in the third quarter of last year averaged about Rp13,100 per US dollar, closed the year at Rp13,400. Unfortunately, the rupiah will continue to face pressure, given the Fed's plan to further raise interest rates this year.

Brexit forced economists to redo their projections for 2017. And, rightly so, as not long after the United Kingdom (UK) decided to leave the European Union (EU), its currency slumped to its lowest level in many years. The concern is that this nationalistic, anti-trade and anti-migration sentiment is gaining followers in other EU countries, which raises uncertainty over the future of the EU and its euro currency, especially with the upcoming elections in France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.