Jakarta, January 8, 2026 – The Europe Today: The Indonesian government is seeking to complete trade agreement discussions and tariff negotiations with the United States in early 2026, underscoring the importance of Washington as Indonesia’s second-largest trading partner.
According to data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), Indonesia’s largest trading partners during the January–November 2025 period were China, with total trade valued at US$58.24 billion, followed by the United States at US$28.14 billion, and India at US$16.44 billion.
“Because the US is Indonesia’s second-largest trading partner, we want to finalize the trade agreement in early 2026,” said Haryo Limanseto, spokesperson for the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, when contacted from Jakarta on Thursday. He expressed optimism that the agreement would deliver significant benefits to Indonesia’s national economy.
Limanseto said that detailed legal drafting and a final review of the document, known as legal scrubbing, are scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C., from January 12 to 19. Negotiating teams from both countries aim to finalize the Agreements on Reciprocal Trade (ATR) document by the third week of January.
“The negotiating team plans to travel to the US later this week for the legal drafting and legal scrubbing process,” he added.
The agreement is targeted to be signed by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and US President Donald Trump at the end of January 2026.
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto stated that all substantive issues have been agreed upon in principle. He noted that Indonesia has committed to opening market access for US products, addressing non-tariff barriers, and strengthening cooperation in areas including digital technology and national security.
In return, the United States has committed to granting tariff exemptions for several of Indonesia’s leading export products, including palm oil, cocoa, coffee, and tea.
