US President Donald Trump hinted at a trade agreement with Indonesia, stating that he spoke to his Indonesian counterpart. However, he did not share any details regarding the scope of the deal, any possible terms or when would it go into effect.
Taking to Truth Social, Trump wrote, “Great deal, for everybody, just made with Indonesia. I dealt directly with their highly respected President. DETAILS TO FOLLOW!!!”
This comes days after he announced a 32 per cent levy on the country, which was set to be effective from August 1, 2025. The announcement was made via a letter sent to the Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, wherein Trump mentioned that their relation had been far from reciprocal.
"Starting on August 1, 2025, we will charge Indonesia a tariff of only 32% on any and all Indonesian products sent into the United States, separate from all sectoral tariffs," the letter read.
"Please understand that the 32% number is far less than what is needed to eliminate the trade deficit disparity we have with your country. As you are aware, there will be no tariff if Indonesia, or companies within your country, decide to build or manufacture product within the United States and, in fact, we will do everything possible to get approvals quickly, professionally and routinely -- in other words, in a matter of weeks," it added further.
Data from the US trade representative office shows Washington's goods trade deficit with Jakarta was $17.9 billion in 2024, up 5.4 percent from the year before.
Earlier on Sunday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that a political agreement was reached to advance the EU-Indonesia free trade deal. The trade deal, dubbed CEPA for Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, will create more opportunities in key industries such as agriculture and the automotive sector, von der Leyen added.
"There's a lot of untouched potential in our trade relationship and therefore this agreement comes at the right time because the new agreement will open new markets", she was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Her remarks came at a press conference with the Indonesian President.
"We consider Europe to be very important to us. That's why we would like to see more European presence and more European participation in our economy," Subianto said. "I think that in this era of instability or confusion, we are setting a right example."
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