Indonesia Nears U.S. Tariff Pact, Targets Early 2026 Signing
Indonesia expects to finalize and sign a tariff agreement with the United States in early 2026 after resolving all major negotiating points, the country’s chief trade negotiator said Tuesday.
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said Jakarta and Washington have reached consensus on all substantive elements of the proposed Agreement on Reciprocal Trade, including both core terms and technical details.
Hartarto made the comments after meeting U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington this week, as the two sides moved to wrap up talks launched under a negotiation framework agreed in July.
Officials are now arranging a meeting between Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and U.S. President Donald Trump, following a final legal review of the agreement. Technical teams from both countries are scheduled to conduct a “legal scrubbing” of the text in the second week of January.
“If the technical process concludes on schedule, the agreement could be signed by President Prabowo and President Trump by the end of January 2026,” Hartarto said during an online briefing.
Negotiations intensified after Trump earlier threatened to impose a 32% tariff on Indonesian exports. Under the July framework, U.S. duties on Indonesian goods were reduced to 19%, while Indonesia agreed to open its market further to American products.
Jakarta committed to eliminating tariffs on more than 99% of U.S. imports and removing all non-tariff barriers affecting American companies. Indonesia also pledged to purchase $15 billion in U.S. energy products and $4.5 billion in agricultural goods, including soybeans, wheat, and cotton.
In return, Indonesia is set to receive tariff exemptions on key exports such as palm oil, coffee, and cocoa—moves Hartarto said would benefit labor-intensive industries employing about 5 million workers.
Indonesia has recorded consistent trade surpluses with the United States over the past decade. From January through October, bilateral trade reached nearly $36.2 billion, with Indonesia posting a surplus of $14.9 billion, according to trade ministry data.
