“The company’s primary priority remains fulfilling the needs of the domestic industrial,” said Katri Krisnati, Vice President of Corporate Communications at Freeport Indonesia, in a statement to ANTARA on Monday.
In addition to the domestic market, Krisnati further explained that Freeport Indonesia’s products are currently being marketed in Asian countries — not the United States.
“PT Freeport Indonesia’s products are currently marketed to the domestic Indonesian market and to Asia,” she noted.
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Earlier, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has announced that a new reciprocal tariff agreement between Indonesia and the U.S., setting a 19 percent tariff, will take effect on August 7, 2025.
He emphasized that Indonesia’s rate is among the lowest in Southeast Asia, with the exception of Singapore which enjoys a lower tariff of 10 percent.
Among the commodities benefiting from zero import tariffs under this agreement are copper concentrate and copper cathode, in line with ongoing strategic discussions on mineral trade between the two countries.
“For copper concentrate and copper cathode, the U.S. set tariffs at zero. This aligns with ongoing talks on strategic minerals, including copper, and the U.S. has already announced this,” Arlangga stated.
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He added: “So, these are what Indonesia classifies as industrial commodities — products that have undergone secondary processing after the ore stage — which aligns with the recent announcement by the U.S. Trade Secretary from the White House.”
Regarding the U.S. interest in Indonesian copper, Freeport Indonesia President Director Tony Wenas previously stated that the company has no current plans to shift its main export market from China to the U.S.
“Switching markets? Shipping to the U.S. takes 45 days, while China only takes seven days. Besides, China consumes 50 percent of the world’s copper,” Tony said.
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Translator: Putu Indah Savitri, Kuntum Khaira Riswan
Editor: M Razi Rahman
Copyright © ANTARA 2025
