Indonesia recorded its largest trade surplus with the United States last year, overtaking India, which previously held the top position, the minister told reporters in Jakarta.
“If we look at it, our largest trade surplus is actually with the United States, followed by India, the Philippines, the Netherlands, and Vietnam. That is what happened in 2025. India previously ranked first for our export surplus, but now India is second and the United States is in first place,” Santoso stated.
The minister detailed that Indonesia’s exports to the US last year amounted to US$30.96 billion, a significant increase compared to US$26.54 billion in 2024.
According to him, the increase was partly driven by President Prabowo’s international diplomacy with the United States.
“It is certainly strongly influenced by the diplomacy carried out by the President. I think we all know how active the President has been in international diplomacy. That is actually one of our key assets, the world’s trust in Indonesia,” Santoso said.
Furthermore, he noted that the export growth is expected to be a positive signal for the continuation of ongoing US trade tariff negotiations.
“So even though with the United States, or almost all countries, there are discussions with the US regarding reciprocal measures, our exports are still growing. Hopefully, once the tariff agreement is finalized, our exports will continue to increase,” he added.
Tariff negotiations between Indonesia and the US are still ongoing. The government stated that discussions have entered the final stage of legal drafting) toward a Reciprocal Tariff Agreement, which was previously scheduled to be signed at the end of January 2026.
The government explained that the negotiations are a follow-up to intensive meetings between Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in late 2025.
The preliminary understanding includes tariff exemptions for Indonesia’s key export products that are not produced in the United States.
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Translator: Arnidhya Zhafira, Kuntum Khaira
Editor: M Razi Rahman
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