Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto on Monday stated that this policy is part of a reciprocal tariff agreement between the two countries.
"This is part of the reciprocal tariff. This is only for US companies, without bidding," he said at a press conference for the 13th US-Indonesia Investment Summit in Jakarta.
Hartarto said the Indonesian and US governments are in the final stages of negotiations for tariff exemptions on several leading Indonesian commodities, with completion targeted this year.
"We have discussed almost all the texts. We have also sent them to the US; we only need to finalize the legal drafting," he said.
Several Indonesian commodities produced outside the US are expected to receive import tariff exemptions, including palm oil (CPO), rubber, tea, and coffee. Meanwhile, commodities such as textiles and footwear remain under discussion.
As previously reported, the US agreed to reduce tariffs on several Indonesian products from an initial threat of 32 percent to 19 percent.
Indonesia is seeking to lower tariffs on several commodities to zero percent, similar to Malaysia’s agreement with the US.
Malaysia’s key products—including palm oil, rubber, wood products, aviation components, and pharmaceuticals—were either exempted from tariffs or reduced to zero percent by the US.
As part of the agreement, Indonesia, through Pertamina, is also committed to increasing energy imports from the US by up to US$15 billion.
This commitment was proposed to help balance trade and serve as a reciprocal measure for the US tariff reductions.
Alongside trade agreements, the commitments also include investments in Indonesia and a blue ammonia facility in the US worth a total of US$10 billion.
With the full trade and investment package, the minister said he is confident the trade balance between the two countries will be restored.
Related news: BP orders another 100,000 barrels from Pertamina to ease shortages
Related news: Pertamina draws inspiration from Brazil’s ethanol success at COP30
Translator: Bayu Saputra, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: M Razi Rahman
Copyright © ANTARA 2025
