Indonesia Boosts US Imports Amid $34B Trade Deal Push
Southeast Asia’s biggest economy has pledged to step up agriculture, energy, and merchandise imports to close the trade gap with Washington, and earlier this week struck a $1.25 billion deal to buy more US wheat.
Trump has threatened Jakarta with a 32 percent tariff on top of a base 10 percent if it does not strike a new trade agreement by August 1.
Chief economic minister Airlangga Hartarto, who has travelled to Washington for trade talks, said Wednesday that state oil firm Pertamina signed a memorandum of understanding pledging more US energy purchases, without providing more details.
Agriculture firms Sorini Agro Asia Corporindo, a member of Indonesia’s Corn Mill Association, and FKS Group also signed memoranda of understanding to up their purchases.
He did not disclose the value of the deals signed in Washington, but last week he told reporters that Indonesian businesses would make a total spending commitment worth $34 billion.
The Indonesian embassy in Washington said the agreements were struck at meetings in Washington on Tuesday.
“The meetings resulted in several commercial deals, as reflected in the signing of various memoranda of understanding, paving the way for new cooperation opportunities and deepening bilateral economic ties,” it said.
US food corporation Cargill, in a statement, confirmed the slate of deals included an MoU for corn purchases.
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 from the year before.
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