JAKARTA: Indonesia’s chief economic minister told AFP on Thursday that Jakarta would step up its energy, agriculture and merchandise imports from the United States to avoid tougher tariffs due to come into force next week.
Trump announced sweeping, harsher-than-expected global levies in April, punishing allies like security partner Indonesia for running a trade surplus with the economic superpower.
Trump announced a deal with Vietnam on Wednesday under which the country would face a minimum 20 percent tariff.
Any similar agreement would mean Jakarta will escape the threat of a more severe 32 percent tariff on top of a baseline 10 percent.
“Indonesia will counterbalance with US energy, agriculture and merchandise imports,“ minister Airlangga Hartarto told AFP.
Jakarta had earlier said it would aim to boost oil and gas imports from the United States as part of a deal to avoid tougher tariffs by the July 9 deadline.
Airlangga said negotiations were ongoing with the US government and private companies, with a memorandum of understanding expected soon.
“Indonesia is in the process with US and Indonesian state and private companies in the negotiations with US counterparts,“ he said, adding that Jakarta was “hopeful” for an MOU to be signed soon.
The United States is one of Indonesia’s top trading partners, and Jakarta enjoyed a $16.8 billion trade surplus with Washington in 2024, according to Indonesian government data.
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 increase on the year prior.
The US-Vietnam deal came a week before the threatened US reimposition of steep tariffs on dozens of economies, including the European Union and Japan.
Many countries are still scrambling to reach deals with Washington that would protect them from the measures.
Those higher tariffs are part of a package Trump initially imposed citing a lack of “reciprocity” in trading relationships, before announcing a temporary lowering to 10 percent.
Since then, Washington has announced a pact with Britain and a deal to temporarily lower retaliatory duties with China. – AFP
